Laryea Kingston Sets His Black Stars Rule: “Top-10 League Or Be Extraordinary”

Former Black Stars winger Laryea Kingston has not minced words about how he would select players for Ghana if given the top job, and his criteria is causing a serious debate.

 

Speaking to 3Sports in an exclusive interview, the former Hearts of Oak star who now coaches Uganda’s U-17 national team said the senior national team shirt must be earned at the highest level.

 

“A senior national team player should be playing in a top-10 league in the world. If not, he must be extraordinary.”

 

 

READ MORE: Laryea Kingston Has Confirmed His Interest In Coaching The Black Stars.

 

Kingston, who has openly declared his interest in taking over the Black Stars following the departure of Carlos Queiroz, broke down his selection formula into two non-negotiables.

 

Laryea Kingston’s 2 Rules for Black Stars:

 

1. League Quality First

Kingston says the first question any Black Stars coach should ask is: Where is the player playing?

 

“First of all, which level are you playing in? Your team and the level of league that you are playing, competition that you are playing in. It’s very important. First, a senior national team player should be playing, at least our target should be like top 10 football countries, top 10 leagues.”

 

In his view, the Black Stars should be built around players competing regularly in England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France and other elite leagues. If you are playing outside that top bracket — in leagues like Cyprus, Azerbaijan, or even the Ghana Premier League — you must be undeniably exceptional to justify a call-up.

 

2. Regular Playing Time

Being at a big club is not enough. Kingston insists bench-warmers have no business in the national team.

 

“Are the players regular, playing actively, not making the squad, but getting minutes? One, starting, getting minutes, we can work out and you look at the form of the players.”

 

“Not just making the squad, but getting minutes every week. That’s how you build a strong national team.”

 

 

Kingston’s comments come at a critical time. Ghana is without a substantive head coach and the conversation around player selection has never been more toxic. Every squad announcement sparks arguments about local players vs foreign-based players.

 

But Kingston went further. He slammed the lack of continuity.

 

“We already have players who have spent more than five years with the Black Stars, so we have experienced players. But I don’t think we have a settled team. It looks like the players who play in the qualifiers are replaced by new faces before tournaments. That’s not how you build a team.”