The Head of Public Relations and Strategy at the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe, believes that Laryea Kingston’s abrupt resignation as the head coach of the Ghana U-17 national team disrupted the team’s stability.
Kingston resigned following the team’s 2-1 semi-final defeat to Burkina Faso, which ended their chances of automatically qualifying for the upcoming U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
This loss marked the third consecutive failure for the Black Starlets to secure a place in the tournament.
In an interview with Joy Prime, Armstrong-Mortagbe emphasized that the team was making significant progress under Kingston, a former Ghana international.
However, his resignation had a negative impact on the team’s momentum.
“Laryea’s project ran for about seven months. We started with the WAFU Zone B U-17 Championship here, winning 5-1 against Ivory Coast, and 2-0 in the next game. Everyone expected us to hopefully qualify directly for the U-17 AFCON.
“Unfortunately, the results didn’t go our way after that. Laryea announced his intent to leave during the tournament, and I think that caused some instability within the team” he said.
Following the semi-final defeat, Ghana also lost the third-place playoff match to Nigeria on Tuesday at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium.