Gambia hires Johnathan McKinstry as manager
McKinstry will join in June in time for World Cup qualifiers. Here's what we know.
BANJUL, Gambia — Gambia’s ruling football body, the Gambia Football Federation (GFF), recently announced the hiring of manager Johnathan McKinstry. McKinstry, who has experience managing Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, will start his job with two vital World Cup qualifying matches against Seychelles and Gabon.
McKinstry arrives in Banjul after a successful two-year stint with Kenyan club Gor Mahia FC. McKinstry won two Premier Leagues with the giants despite inheriting a team serving a FIFA transfer ban and down to just 18 first-team players.
“I was deeply involved in the whole recruitment process and the negotiations and Johnathan came across as a very reasonable person who has a great passion and knowledge of Gambian football and our footballers,” GFF CEO Lamin Jassey said in a statement. “That was one of the reasons that drew us to him.”
McKinstry succeeds Tom Saintfiet, who led Gambia to their highest FIFA ranking ever and its first AFCON appearance. Saintfiet resigned after the Gambia’s AFCON 2023 group stage exit, taking on the vacant spot as the Phillipines’ head coach. McKinstry beat out former England international Sol Campbell and Ivory Coast star Kolo Touré for the job.
Gambia enters the June international window with zero points in two matches of World Cup qualifying. They’re four points and four places removed from first place with just eight matches to go.
The group winner gets an automatic bid to the 2026 World Cup, while the second-place advances to a possible playoff stage. The top four of the nine second-placed teams compete in a single-elimination tournament to determine who will advance to the inter-confederation playoffs.
What players could blossom?
McKinstry’s hiring could open up a clearer pathway to the national team for Feyenoord youngster Yankuba Minteh. Minteh won four caps for the Gambia, including three AFCON appearances, but he hasn’t made a big impact on the national team so far.
Minteh, a Newcastle loanee, scored 11 goals and six assists in 37 total appearances for Feyenoord. He has a lot of experience playing as a right winger and cutting through the middle with his natural left foot, but we’ve seen manager Arne Slot play him at center-forward and left wing. Minteh stands at 180 cm (5’11) and has a decent amount of muscle. A pacy, dynamic dribbler with exciting creativity and versatility, Minteh saw action on both wings in AFCON.
Another Gambian winger, Alieu Fadera, is expected to make a huge wave for the Gambia going into the June international break. Fadera primarily plays on the left wing and cuts in with his right. He’s highly effective both in the half-spaces and cutting into the middle of the pitch. He’ll often use his right to cut in to the middle and score, and his left to make crosses and cutbacks from the left wing.
Fadera saw a lot of playing time with Genk this season, primarily on the left side of play. Although he’s an excellent passer and creator, his dribbling has become shaky in recent months, and his creativity has declined as his minutes and role dimish. Fadera needs to see an important role with Gambia now, as the potential from former club Zulte Waregem is still lingering.
Could Gambia U20 striker Adama Bojang make a senior team appearance after a successful AFCON U20 and World Cup? Is his nine senior team appearances enough to persuade McKinistry? Could U20 center-back Alagie Saine be the antidote to Gambia’s flailing defense despite his general rawness? Could midfielder Jesper Ceesay earn a call-up, having played an important midfield role throughout the season?
What are the expectations for McKinstry’s stint?
Although Gambia won’t expect to qualify for the World Cup, especially after their slow start in the November international window, McKinstry will likely be expected to qualify for the 2025 AFCON. McKinstry’s predecessor, Saintfiet, qualified the Gambia for two consecutive AFCONs, so the GFF will likely aim for another qualification.
It’s also likely that the GFF will place a high emphasis on breeding the next generation of Gambian stars. There were hints of a revolution with Musa Barrow’s breakout season with Bologna, and Minteh’s evolution at Feyenoord is also promising. However, McKinstry will want a youth team similar to Gambia U20’s successes, one that churns out players that eventually end up at European sides. The Gambia U20 squad that won AFCON U20 produced Mamin Sanyang (Wolfsburg II), Saine (Horsens), Bojang (Reims), and more. Could we see it at the U17 level or the U23s?
Those expectations — qualification to the 2025 AFCON and the eventual development of Gambian stars — don’t seem too far off for a vetted coach with a track record of winning. At the tender age of 38, the Northern Irish gaffer is steadily earning a reputation for working miracles with smaller African nations, and he is quickly progressing as one of Africa’s most renowned coaches.