Black Starlets coach Laryea Kingston has set his sights on qualifying for the CAF Under 17 Cup of Nations.

To qualify for the Under-17 AFCON, the Starlets need to excel at the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B tournament, which starts on Wednesday, May 15, in Accra.

Speaking ahead of Ghana's opening Group A game with Cote d'Ivoire, Laryea Kingston said that participating in the just-ended UEFA U-16 Invitational tournament in Russia, will help in this regard.

''The journey has been tedious but experience wise it’s worth it, especially with the boys, our takeaway has been very positive''.

''We had our first loss against Russia since the technical team took over, our first loss in so many games, for us it was very shocking and the boys as well, but for me I think our next game against Serbia, they learnt from their mistakes and they came out playing very well''.

''We met a different style of play, in the first edition that we featured in Serbia. It was more of Western Europeans participating and this time around it was more of Eastern Europeans, so for me I think it was a very good experience for me as a coach to understand every part of world the way they play and the mindset of the coaches'' he added.

Ghana has not participated in a major tournament at the Under 17 level since 2017.

Disappoints from the seven years have jolted the Ghana Football Association (GFA) into action, producing a handbook for youth football development; the Ghana Football DNA.

Laryea, in a conversation with JoySports, has been deliberate about implementing the dictates of the ''DNA''.

''We were very careful in selecting players because of the style the GFA - ''Agoro style'' - has put up which is the major signature that is motivating us as a technical team,''

''The technical team wants to dominate play, we want to have transitions in our play but we don’t want to forget the DNA - the GFA's handbook for football development - has put up and adding the philosophy of the technical team, it is working perfectly for the team.''

Kingston, who was part of Ghana’s U-17 team that reached the World Cup final against Brazil back in 1997, has only lost one in 14 matches as Starlets coach. The team has won ten matches, scoring an impressive 46 goals.

Ghana will begin their campaign with a tricky test with Cote d'Ivoire on Wednesday, before facing Benin in the final group game in the tournament that ends on May 28, 2024.