Black Stars assistant coach George Boateng has left Aston Villa after three years in charge of the Premier League club’s U23 side.

In a statement released on Instagram, the 46-year-old said he will now be concentrating on Ghana ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Boateng was one of four coaches assembled by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) in February to take charge of Ghana’s two-legged World Cup playoff against Nigeria.

Otto Addo was appointed as head coach, Chris Hughton as technical director, and Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani as assistants.

The quartet succeeded in guiding the Black Stars to the World Cup after beating the Super Eagles on away goals.

“Leaving Aston Villa after three wonderful seasons was not an easy decision but having the opportunity to coach my country at the World Cup was too good to turn down,” Boateng wrote.

“I have learned so much and I’m grateful for the time spent at this beautiful, amazing club. I want to thank the players, staff and fans for their wonderful support and I wish the club every success in the future.

“As for now I will concentrate on my role as the Assistant Coach of Ghana ahead of the World Cup.”

Meanwhile, Ghana’s Black Stars are one of the new national teams added to EA Sports’ soon-to-be-released FIFA 23 game.

The Black Stars are part of 16 new national teams confirmed to be part of the game’s World Cup mode feature.

The World Cup mode will allow gamers to pick teams that have qualified for the Qatar 2022 World Cup as playable nations.

Other African nations that are set to be added to the FIFA 23 game are Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, with Nigeria conspicuously missing.

This is probably because the Super Eagles failed to secure a place at the World Cup after losing to Ghana in the playoffs.