Laryea Kingston declares Ghana’s readiness for WAFU tournament

Ghana U17 coach Laryea Kingston says his team is ready to fight for a place in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with an impressive performance in the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) B championship.

The WAFU B U-17 challenge which kicks off on Wednesday presents two slots for the 2025 U-17 AFCON and having missed out since 2017, the Black Starlets are eager to bounce back to the continental stage.

In their opening game at the WAFU championship, Kingston will lead the team in their first competitive game under his charge as they face Ivory Coast.

⚽️ 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬 – 𝗭𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗕 𝗨𝟭𝟳 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗦!

🇬🇭 Ghana 🆚 Cote D’Ivoire 🇨🇮
🏟️ University Stadium, Legon
⏱️ Kick Off – 4:00 PM#BlackStarlets | #QAFCONU17 | #ZONEOUESTB | #BringBackTheLove pic.twitter.com/UK5vZDgwT6

— 🇬🇭 Ghana Football Association (@ghanafaofficial) May 15, 2024

“We are ready,” he said.

“Preparations have been very good and from our last training, the boys are looking very good for the game,” he added.

Laryea, however, acknowledged the pressure on himself and his players to deliver, considering Ghana’s failure to qualify for the AFCON since 2017.

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Black Starlets head coach Laryea Kingston aims to qualify for the U-17 AFCON tournament through the WAFU U-17 Zone B Championships, starting today.

The Starlets will play their first game against Ivory Coast at 4 pm today.#3SportsGH pic.twitter.com/X8OFFjWzAe

— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) May 15, 2024

“Yes, we’re under pressure to perform because in the last two editions, we have not been able to qualify. I know Ghanaians expect us to qualify and that puts some pressure on us.

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“There is pressure on us but where we’ve taken the boys to and the preparations we have had, thanks to the FA, we’re ready,” Coach Laryea Kingston concluded.

Ghana will hope to secure victory against their Ivorian counterparts in the opening game before trading tackles with Benin in their next game on Tuesday.

After his appointment earlier this year, the former Black Stars midfielder who replaced veteran coach Abdul Karim Zito has led the team through a series of preparatory sessions.

In addition to friendly games, the also ended in a U16 UEFA Youth Championship invitational tournament in Russia last month impressing with two big wins over Kazakhstan and Serbia.