Laryea Kingston credits Uganda’s support for youth football success

Former Ghana midfielder Laryea Kingston has credited Uganda’s investment in his technical team and the support of the country’s football federation for helping him achieve success with the national youth sides.

Kingston, who serves as head coach of Uganda’s junior national teams, has overseen two major achievements in 2026, guiding the U-17 side to qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar and victory at the CECAFA U-17 Championship.

The Cubs also secured a place at the 2027 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), underlining their progress under the Ghanaian coach.

Uganda qualified for the World Cup in May after beating Ghana’s Black Starlets 8-7 on penalties following a 2-2 draw in their play-off at the U-17 AFCON in Morocco.

They added another trophy on Monday, October 19, defeating Somalia 6-5 on penalties after a goalless draw in the CECAFA final in Kigali, Rwanda.

Kingston believes the achievements reflect not only the players’ quality and hard work but also the supportive environment provided by the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA).

“We all know that every success, you need a friendly environment, and Uganda have provided a very good friendly environment for me,” he said.

The former Black Stars midfielder explained that his appointment was intended to serve a broader purpose beyond developing young players, with a focus on improving local coaches and contributing to the long-term growth of Ugandan football.

He said FUFA had assembled an experienced backroom staff to support his work, creating an opportunity for knowledge-sharing and professional development.

“The first thing they did was they put very good people around me. With the U-17s, they gave me an evergreen backroom staff,” Kingston said.

“My first assistant, my second assistant, all of them are legends of Ugandan football, and they have entered into coaching and are willing to learn and make sure we improve each other’s qualities.”

Kingston said working alongside former Ugandan players had enabled him to share his coaching experience while benefiting from their understanding of the country’s football culture.

He added that the collaboration was designed to help local coaches improve their skills while working within the national youth-team structure.

Although he acknowledged that challenges remained, Kingston said the technical team had managed to maintain a positive working relationship.

“Without saying everything is perfect, we all know there are challenges sometimes, but we’ve so far managed it very well,” he added.

“Going forward, we’re looking forward to maintaining the same consistency to make sure everyone is on the same page.”

Kingston also praised FUFA president Moses Magogo for providing the personnel needed to support his work with both the U-17 and U-20 teams.

“I think the president did a very good job by giving me the right people to work with, both the U-17s and the U-20s,” he said.

Kingston’s immediate focus is preparing Uganda for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, scheduled to take place from November 19 to December 13, 2026.

The tournament will mark Uganda’s second consecutive appearance at the competition after qualifying for the 2025 edition.

The Cubs have been drawn in Group B alongside Korea Republic, Ecuador and New Caledonia.

The group will provide Kingston’s side with an opportunity to test their progress against teams from outside Africa as they seek to build on their recent achievements.

With qualification secured and the CECAFA title added to their honours, Uganda will hope their preparations and technical-team stability can translate into a strong performance on the global stage.