19/7/2025–|Last update: 12:06 (Mecca time)
Football records have always been filled with legends, but few have succeeded in capturing the hearts of the world, as did the Ghanaian Obaidi Ayo Pele.
With his amazing skills, his insightful vision, and his leadership personality, Abidi embodied a legendary journey that made him an eternal icon not only in Africa; In the history of the entire game.
From Dom’s dusty stadiums in Ghana to the Champions League glories with Olympic Marseille, “Maestro”, Abidi Pele, wrote a unique chapter in the story of the round witch.
Creativity from the womb of poverty
On November 19, 1964, Abidi Bili was born in Dom in Bagna, and grew up in a modest family where the most beautiful outlet football was, and in his childhood he played barefoot using balls made of socks and plastic bags, and his talent soon drew attention.
All of Abedi Pele’s AFCON goals for Ghana 🇬🇭⚽️https://t.co/CyLlo7RIDN
— Mrku ampofo (@_werkuAMPo) March 27, 2021
As a result of the Brazilian legend Pele, his name was built, later becoming a symbol of the greatness of African football, as his professional path started with Real Tamali United, and the features of the legend began to be formed.
Ascending towards glory
Abidi’s accession to Ghana in the 1980s constituted a major turning point in his career, showing his unique ability to control the matches and make the difference.
In 1982, Abidi won the African Nations Cup title with “Black Stars”, after that, he started his journey outside the continent, beginning with the Qatari dam, then Swiss Zurich, until the most prominent glory station: Olympic Marseille, French.
Marseille’s golden years
In Marseille, the star of Abidi Pele shined to become the leader of the history-making team.
ABED PELE vs Barcelona 1991
enchanting Camp Nou. pic.twitter.com/NcWMxh0ptW
– Football king (@Gyurkasarosi) July 16, 2025
Wonderful partnerships with Jean -Pierre Baban, Chris Wadel, while the world was amazed by his ability to control the rhythm of the matches, and deserved the title “Maestro”, to turn into a artistic and public code in European football.
African champion and ambassador
Abidi’s influence did not stop at clubs, but rather extended to be the African football banner globally. With the Ghana team, he won the title of African Nations 1982, and was summer in 1992, along with his unique achievement by winning the award for the best player in the championship 3 times in a row (1991, 1992, 1993), to open a wide way for Africans in Europe, inspiring generations that dreamed of walking in his footsteps.
This march did not pass without individual achievements, as Abidi was chosen the third best African player in the twentieth century, according to the International Federation for History and Statistics, and he gave the “MasterCard” team for the best players in the 1998 century.
He also ranked ninth in the award for the best player in the world from the International Football Association “FIFA” in 1992, and entered the list of the 100 greatest live players in the world announced by the Brazilian legend Pele in 2004, and gave him “FIFA” the Order of Merit in 2007, so that the whole world recognized the value of a legend that came out of the streets of Ghana to live in football memory.
After his retirement in 2000, Abidi devoted his life to the development of the game in Africa, and he established the Nania Football Academy in Ghana, to make new generations that trace his impact, and his family heritage was evident in his two sons Andre and Jordan Ayo, the two stars of Ghana who continue to write the chapters of glory in the name of the Iow family, which is described as “the first family of Ghanaian football.”