Northern Irishman named new The Gambia manager after guiding Kenyan side to consecutive league titles

Lisburn native Johnny McKinstry has been named The Gambia manager. PIC: Gor Mahia YouTube

Starting the job next month, McKinstry will enter international management for the fourth time in his career having also spent time in charge of Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Uganda alongside holding positions in club football in Lithuania, Bangladesh and Kenya.

The former Wallace High School pupil was a fan of Lisburn Distillery in his youth before embarking on a fascinating coaching journey which has taken him around the world, working with Newcastle United and Gateshead during his time at university.

McKinstry has also spent time in the United States and Ghana and is now tasked with helping Gambia qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations which is being held in Morocco.

The Gambian national squad currently have players who ply their trade in some of Europe’s top leagues, including Feyenoord striker Yankuba Minteh and Besiktas defender Omar Colley, and made it to the African Cup of Nations in each of the last two attempts, reaching the quarter-finals in 2021.

"The GFF wishes to congratulate and welcome our new gaffer Jonathan McKinstry on his appointment as Scorpions Coach,” they posted on their social media platform. “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.”

Upon leaving Gor Mahia, McKinstry told the club’s YouTube channel: “It has been a huge honour...Gor Mahia is one of the biggest and most storied clubs in Africa.

"When I came here, there’s modern clubs, corporate clubs and that’s happening all over the world, but their link with their community and history of the game isn’t there because they’ve arrived in the last decade or two decades.

"Yes, they might be successful, but they don’t have that story behind them or roots of the club. What really attracted me to come here was how the roots of the club are grown deep into the community here in Kenya, especially in western Kenya...it’s something that families and children are born into.

"That’s something which really appealed to me coming into the club two years ago and it’s something I’ve really felt. That is something I was aware of coming in, but the depth of feeling and connection between the community here and the club is intense – that’s something I’ve enjoyed being in the middle of.

"It’s not easy because when you have that family connection and desire from everyone around you to succeed and the focus is on you, it brings a level of pressure, but that’s something I wanted.

"There has been so many lessons I’ve taken from the last two years, but also a lot of joy and happiness. I’m going to miss it and it has been one great experience.”