• 1
  • 2
  • 3

UEFA Pro Coach and Professional Football Manager.  

Experienced at the highest level, including as Head Coach of the Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone National Football Teams.  

European (UEFA), American (NSCAA) and university qualified, with a record of elite player development across America, Africa and Europe.

 

News & Reviews

Coach McKinstry to lead Gambia National Team

Coach McKinstry to lead Gambia National Team

Coach McKinstry appointed as Head Coach of Gambia Scorpions (25 May 2024).  Read More
McKinstry leads Gor Mahia to Kenyan Premier League title

McKinstry leads Gor Mahia to Kenyan Premier League title

Coach McKinstry and Gor Mahia crowned Champions of the Kenyan Premier League (25 June 2023).  Read More
Coach McKinstry - REVIEW: 20 Years of Coaching - Highlights and Key Stats

REVIEW: 20 Years of Coaching - Highlights and Key Stats

March 2021 saw Coach McKinstry pass his 20-year milestone in football coaching.  Over that time he has improved the win-performance of a number of teams Read More
Coach McKinstry delivers 2 wins in every 3 games for Uganda cranes

REVIEW: Coach McKinstry and the Uganda Cranes

Winning 2 in every 3 games played, Coach McKinstry delivered Uganda their strongest 'win' and 'undefeated' rate in over 15 years (May 2021).  Read More
Coach McKinstry: Rwanda - Review

REVIEW: Moving the Rwanda 'Amavubi' to New Heights.

Review: Coach McKinstry led Rwanda to their best ever performance in a major competition (Qtr-Finals of CHAN) and finished runner up in CECAFA. (January 2017). Read More
Coach McKinstry, working with the Leone Stars.  Pic © Darren McKinstry - more at www.johnnymckinstry.com/leonestars

REVIEW: Coach McKinstry's Successes & Challenges with the Leone Stars

Within just 16 months Coach McKinstry had led Sierra Leone to their highest ever FIFA World and African rankings (August 2014). Read More
  • 1
  • Uganda National Team

    Coach McKinstry was Head Coach of the Uganda national team Sep 2019 - Apr 2021.
    Coach McKinstry delivered a WIN from 2 in every 3 games and went undefeated in over 8 in every 10 games played. He led Uganda to win CECAFA 2019, doing so by winning every game they played. In AFCON, under his management Uganda were the only of 48 nations to concede zero goals from open play.
    Read More
  • Rwanda National Team

    As Head Coach of the Rwanda national team (2015-16), Coach McKinstry led Rwanda to new heights.
    This included securing Rwanda’s best ever performance in a major competition (Quarter-Finals of the 2016 CAF Nations Championship); finishing runner up in CECAFA 2015; and other key achievements.
    Read More
  • Sierra Leone National Team

    Coach McKinstry was Head Coach of the Sierra Leone national team from April 2013 - September 2014.
    Within just 16 months Coach McKinstry had led Sierra Leone to their highest ever FIFA World and African rankings - 7th in Africa and 50th in the World (August 2014), an achievement hailed by FIFA.com as "remarkable".
    Read More
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Quotes: What the media say

  • Very few 29-year-olds have managed a national football team. None have done it while that country is being brought to its knees by Ebola.

    Read More
    Ben Smith BBC Sport
  • McKinstry led the team to their highest ever placing in the FIFA world rankings. They broke into the top 50, ahead of his native Northern Ireland.

    Read More
    Damien Edgar Backpage Football
  • McKinstry has a voracious appetite for football and for learning, he lives and breathes it and his sense of adventure means predicting his next move is not easy.

    Read More
    Ben Smith BBC Sport
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5