The Head of Public Relations and Strategy at the Ghana Football Association (GFA), GFA's head of Public Relations and Strategy, Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe, says Laryea Kingston's sudden decision to resign as head coach of the Black Starlets affected the team.

Kingston stepped from his role following the defeat to Burkina Faso in the semifinal of the just-ended WAFU B U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The defeat ended hopes of Ghana qualifying for the next edition of the U-17 AFCON which extends the Black Starlets' absence from the competition to three.

Following his decision, the team subsequently lost the third-place playoff game against Nigeria which meant they finished fourth despite a good start to the tournament.

Speaking on Joy Prime, Armstrong-Mortagbe revealed the team was destabilised after the news of Kingston resigning.

"Laryea's project ran for about seven months...We started with the WAFU Zone B U-17 Championship here, 5-1 against Ivory Coast, next game 2-0. Everybody expected that we should be hopefully qualifying directly to the U-17 AFCON," he said.

"Unfortunately, the results didn't go our way thereafter. Laryea announced his intent to leave the role in the course of the tournament and I think that created a bit of instability around the team."

“That created a bit of instability around the team.”

GFA's head of Public Relations and Strategy, Neil Armstrong-Mortgagbe, on Laryea Kingston’s resignation as Black Starlets coach.#JoySports pic.twitter.com/BE0MxFxgqY

— #JoySports (@JoySportsGH) May 30, 2024

Nana Kweku Agyemang was on the touchline for the Starlets' third-place playoff game earlier this week as they lost to the Golden Eaglets.