Laryea Kingston (born 7 November 1980) is a Ghanaian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. He played either as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

or as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He was appointed as the Assistant Coach of the Ghana Under 17 National Team on 12th December,2022.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, Kingston started his career with local side

Great Olympics Accra Great Olympics is a Ghanaian professional football club based in Accra, Greater Accra. The club is currently competing in the Ghana Premier League. It has won the Ghana Premier League twice, in 1970, 1974 and the Ghana FA Cup thrice, in 197 ...

, whom he joined aged 16, before moving to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

n side

Al-Ittihad Tripoli Al-Ittihad Sport, Cultural & Social Club ( ar, نادي الاتحاد الرياضي الثقافي الاجتماعي) famously known as Al-Ittihad Tripoli, or simply Al-Ittihad, is a Libyan football (soccer), football club based in Bab Ben Ga ...

in 2000, on a loan deal. However, after only four months of this arrangement he returned to Accra, unhappy at his treatment in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, joining one of Ghana's traditional "Big Two",

Hearts of Oak Hearts most commonly refers to: * Hearts (card game), a trick-taking game * Hearts (suit), one of the standard four suits of cards * Heart, an organ Hearts may also refer to: Music * The Hearts, an American girl group closely related to the Jay ...

, in 2001. Two years later he moved to Israel, initially with Maccabi Ahi Nazareth. After two

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

matches, Maccabi decided not to retain him and he was signed by

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

, where he played until 2004.

Move to Russia

Russia was Kingston's next destination, where he joined

Krylia Sovetov Samara PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara (russian: Профессиональный футбольный клуб «Крылья Советов» Самара) is a football club from Russia based in Samara. It returned to the Russian Premier League for the 20 ...

, helping them to third place in the Russian Premier League in his first season. Krylia Sovetov also reached the

Cup final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

that year but were surprisingly defeated 1–0 by

Terek Grozny Republican Football Club Akhmat ( ce, футболан клуб Ахмат Соьлжа-ГӀала; russian: Республиканский футбольный клуб Ахмат Грозный), commonly known as Akhmat Grozny, is a Russian ...

in Moscow. Kingston joined Terek halfway through the 2005 season but was unable to help them avoid a bottom-placed finish and relegation from the top flight into the First Division. Several of Terek's higher-profile players left as a result of this demotion, and Kingston joined Lokomotiv Moscow on loan for the 2006 season. He was banned for 6 matches in July 2006 for deliberately injuring

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

defender Leandro Fernández.

Hearts

When Terek failed to secure a return to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, Kingston appeared set for a permanent departure from the Chechen side. Despite an approach from

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

and rumoured interest from

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. Kingston joined Hearts on 25 January 2007 on an initial six-month loan deal. Hearts also negotiated the option to sign him permanently for a further three years at the initial contract's end and exercised this option on 6 June 2007, for a reported fee of £500,000. Kingston's time at Heart of Midlothian is generally considered a disappointment as he was so rarely available to play because of injury and international commitments.

Vitesse

After his release from Hearts, Kingston moved to the Netherlands to sign for

Vitesse Arnhem Vitesse may refer to: * Vitesse Models, a diecast model car company * Vitesse (band), Dutch rock band * Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a car * Rover 216 Vitesse, a car * Rover 3500 Vitesse, a car * Rover 800 Vitesse, a car * Triumph Vites ...

, but was released in December 2010 after just six months with the club.

Move to Israel

Kingston, who had trained with his former club Hearts of Oak after his release from Vitesse, signed a two-year deal with Israeli Premier League side

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The cl ...

on 13 July 2011. On 6 August, kingston scored his first goal for Be'er Sheva in a Free Kick Against

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jeru ...

In the

in a game which Be'er Sheva won 3–0.

Return to Hearts of Oak

In the January 2012, Kingston returned to

Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

for his former club

, signing one and a half-year contract.

Move To America

In March 2013 Kingston signed to USL PRO team

Phoenix FC Phoenix FC was an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix. The team was a member of the USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team's colors were red and white. History On June 18, 2012, BDR Spo ...

. After leaving Phoenix, Kingston went on trial with

Brunei DPMM Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota Football Club (His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Brunei Football Club in English, commonly known as DPMM FC) is a professional football club based in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The club played in the Brunei Pr ...

of the S.League in November 2013.

International career

Well known as an uncompromising and hard-working player by fellow professionals, Kingston's determined style has occasionally caused him problems, most notably when representing the Ghanaian national side at the

2006 Africa Cup of Nations The 2006 Africa Cup of Nations was the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa. It was hosted by Egypt. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Egypt w ...

, when he was sent off during Ghana's 1–0 victory over

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

following an altercation with

Habib Beye Habib Frédéric Beye (born 19 October 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He is the manager of Championnat National club Red Star. Born in France, he represented the Senegal national team. He is also a pundit ...

. Both players subsequently received unprecedented four-match suspensions, which resultantly ruled Kingston out of contention for the Ghana squad for

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

. Kingston returned to prominence for the ''Black Stars'' in February 2007 though, scoring in their 4–1 victory over

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in London. He was also excluded from the squad for the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Personal life

Kingston's elder brother,

Richard Kingson Richard Kingson (born 13 June 1978) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently serves as a goalkeeper coach for the Ghana national football team. He is also known by his Turkish name Faruk Gürsoy and ...

, is also a professional footballer, who played in goal in all four of Ghana's matches at the

. Richard was also first-choice at the 2010 tournament. He previously played for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. On 21 November 1997 his son,

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

, was born, he is currently a professional footballer who plies his trade with Ghanaian club Accra Great Olympics.

References

External links

*
Appearances
at londonhearts.com *

ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070624001544/http://www.stv.tv/content/sport/ stv'' interview, 26 June 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston, Laryea 1980 births Living people Footballers from Accra Ghanaian men's footballers Ghana men's under-20 international footballers Ghana men's international footballers 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Scottish Premier League players Russian Premier League players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players Maccabi Akhi Nazareth F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Libya Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Libya Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara players Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Israel FC Lokomotiv Moscow players FC Akhmat Grozny players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Accra Great Olympics F.C. players Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland SBV Vitesse players Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Eredivisie players Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli) players Al-Ettifaq FC players Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players Israeli Premier League players Saudi Pro League players Libyan Premier League players