Gor Mahia head coach Jonny McKinstry has been confirmed as the new manager of the Gambia national team, the Scorpions.
The Irishman has been handed a two-year deal and will begin his work officially at the helm of the team on June 1st 2024 when his contract with the FKF Premier League giants expires.
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“The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) wishes to congratulate and welcome our new gaffer Jonathan McKinstry on his appointment as Head Coach of the Scorpions. Jonny, a former Sierra Leone, Uganda and Rwanda coach is the current manager of Gor Mahia FC in Kenya and will take over from 1st June 2024.
“He’s to oversee our qualification for the 2025 AFCON and 2026 World Cup,” a statement from the Gambia Football Federation noted on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the county’s Ministry of Youth and Sports revealed that a total of 90 coaches had applied for the job to replace Tom Saintfiet who left his role after the previous African Cup of Nations.
“The decision (to appoint McKinstry) followed a thorough recruitment and selection processes, during which the Ministry through the National Sports Council collaborated with the Gambia Football Federation’s Technical and Development Committee to shortlist and interview five from a poll of 90 applicants. This was further dropped to three competitive coaches where Mr. McKinstry was the most rated, and therefore placed at first choice for the job, an offer he accepted,” a statement from the Ministry stated.
Part of McKinstry’s role as the head coach of the national team would be to monitor the progress of their foreign-based players and give regular updates to the GFF, scout players for inclusion in the national teams, qualify the senior scorpions to the 2025 African Cup of Nations and provide coaching lessons to their local coaches.
McKinstry has no time to rest on his laurels as he has a date with Seychelles and Gabon earlier next month in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. He will be up against Kenya’s Harambee Stars on 17th May 2025.
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