The contract of Gambia’s national football team coach Jonathan McKinstry has been extended to another two years, the youth and sports ministry announced on Wednesday.
McKinstry’s contract extension which will see him manage the Scorpions until 2028 came into effect on June 1st, 2026.
The Northern Irish coach was appointed in 2024 on a two-year contract, and managed 4 wins, 3 draws, and 3 defeats in charge of the Scorpions through the course of 2025. The Gambia lost 3-1 in their last international friendly on May 30th, 2026.
McKinstry who coached the Rwandan, Ugandan, and Sierra Leonean national sides, has never led the Scorpions playing at home due to an ongoing ban by Africa’s football governing body over poor facilities at The Gambia’s only national stadium in Bakau.
The ministry said the decision to extend the 40-year-old’s contract ”reflects the government’s confidence in Coach McKinstry’s leadership and commitment to the continued growth and development of Gambian football”.
The ministry praised his role in nurturing young talent, and strengthening the foundations necessary for sustained success at the international level and recognises the importance of continuity in the technical leadership of the national team.
”Extending Coach McKinstry’s tenure will enable him to continue the important work of building a strong team capable of achieving greater success for the nation” said a statement by the ministry.
The minisry said McKinstry’s leadership of the Scorpions is culminating in the exciting prospects of the team returning to play competitive matches on home soil for the first time in five years.
The Independence Stadium has been under a Confederation of African Football ban to host the Scorpions home matches since February 2022 because it fell short of international standards.
After four years of major renovations which included an upgraded pitch and dressing room, and several false dawns over lifting CAF’s ban, there are high hopes that the national team may finally play their homes matches at the 14, 000 seater stadium build by the Chinese in the early 1980s.
Gambia are in Group C of African Nations qualifiers along with Ghana, Ivory Coast and Somalia.
WN/as/APA