By Lamin Cham
The Gambia has appointed new football coach for the national team, The Scorpions. He is Jonathan McKinstry, a 38-year-old from Northern Ireland.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports in a statement yesterday said the decision followed a thorough recruitment and selection process, 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 90 applicants.
It said 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.
“In this regard, the general public is hereby informed that Johnathan McKinstry has been appointed on a two years contract by the Ministry of Youth and Sports on agreed terms and conditions akin with international football rules. Early next week, the National Sports Council will sign a contract with Johnathan that will be effective 1st June 2024,” the ministry said.
Johnathan McKinstry, a Northern Irish, is a UEFA Pro License coach who has a track record of consistently raising performance at elite level by developing teams, players and staff across Asia and Africa during his close to two decades career as a junior and senior football coach.
As part of his tasks under the supervision of the Gambia Football Federation, Coach Johnathan is expected to, among other deliverables;
1. Monitor the progress of foreign based players and give regular updates to the GFF
2. Scout players for inclusion in the national teams
3. Qualify the senior scorpions to the 2025 AFCON
4. Provide coaching lessons for local coaches
See sports page for his bio.
