Ghana winger Andre Dede Ayew has explained his outburst of emotions after the Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire final in Equatorial Guinea last Sunday.

Shortly after the game in Bata, the Olympic Marseille midfielder said the degree of investment by way of training, qualifiers and the tournament - from the group stages through the knockout to the final, triggered his tears.

Dede said the team came close to breaking the over three-decade trophy drought only to be robbed by ill-luck, not just by any side, but Cote d’Ivoire, who beat Ghana under the same circumstances in 1992 when his father Abedi Pele was captain of the Black Stars “When again are we going to come this close? It is very unfortunate.

We worked and toiled to reach that level, so thinking about all those sacrifices made me break down in tears.

“It was very difficult to accept the loss, but that is football. We are hoping that we win it next time,” he added.

Dede, winner of the Samsung Best Player Award in one of the games, broke down and wept uncontrollably when the final game involving the Black Stars and Elephants ended 8-9 on penalties in favour of the latter.

Many including the Minister of Youth and Sports Mahama Ayariga, Cote d’Ivoire coach Herve Renard, his junior brother Jordan Ayew tried in vain to console the talismanic midfielder.