\n<\/p>\n
The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) has appointed Johnny McKinstry as the head coach of its men’s senior side.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Northern Irishman, who has led Gor Mahia to successive Kenyan league titles, has been handed a two-year contract and will begin the role on 1 June.<\/p>\n
The GFF has tasked McKinstry, 38, with securing qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.<\/p>\n
His first matches in charge of the Scorpions will be the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Seychelles and Gabon on 8 and 11 June respectively.<\/p>\n
The Gambia sit fifth in Group I after losing their first two games against Burundi and Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n
BBC Sport Africa understands former England centre-back Sol Campbell and ex-Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure were also shortlisted by the GFF.<\/p>\n
McKinstry has previous experience at international level following spells in charge of Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Uganda.<\/p>\n
His predecessor with The Gambia, Tom Saintfiet, led the West Africans to the Nations Cup for the first time and then secured back-to-back qualifications for the finals.<\/p>\n
The Scorpions reached the quarter-finals on their tournament debut at the delayed 2021 edition, where they were beaten by hosts Cameroon, and suffered a group-stage exit at the 2023 Nations Cup earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Saintfiet resigned after their final group match,<\/a> having spent six years in charge and improved their world ranking by 42 places.<\/p>\n The draw for the qualifying groups for the 2025 Nations Cup is yet to be made by the Confederation of African Football.<\/p>\n Qualifiers are expected to be held in September, October and November this year, while the dates of the finals in Morocco next year have not been confirmed.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n