Coach McKinstry appointed Head Coach of Saif Sporting Club

Details: Published: Wednesday, 07 November 2018 10:00

Coach McKinstry joins Bangladesh Premier League team, Saif Sporting Club Ltd. (7 Nov 2018).

Dhaka, Bangladesh. 11 Dec 2018. Johnathan McKinstry (Head Coach) works with players. Saif Sporting Club in training ahead of their quarter final match in the Walton Independence Cup 2018. Credit: XtraTimeSports (Darren McKinstry). Johnathan McKinstry (Head Coach, Saif Sporting Club) works with players in training.

Saif Sporting Club Ltd. have appointed Coach McKinstry as Head Coach ahead of the 2018-19 season.

Formed in 2016, Saif Sporting secured promotion from the Championship league in their first season, and in their first year in the Premier League finished 4th securing qualification for the AFC Cup, Asia's equivalent to the UEFA Europa League.

Saif Sporting are now looking to take the next step in their development by competing for the top domestic prizes in Bangladesh, and seeking ultimately to extend their participation in continental competitions.

An ambitious club owned by one of Bangladesh's biggest companies; Saif Sporting have appointed Coach McKinstry's so that they can draw on his track record of innovation and achieving success in varied and challenging environments across the globe. This experience is seen as perfectly suited to building their technical and organisational capacity to allow them to develop into one of the top teams in the region and in Asia.

Playing out of the 12,000 Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh, McKinstry inherits a squad containing 4 members of the Bangladesh senior national team, as well as 7 members of the u-23 National team. His experience and success in developing young talent is also seen as key to nurturing these bright talents not only for the benefit of Saif Sporting, but also aiding the development of Bangladesh players at the international level.

Coach McKinstry brings with him his assistant coach and techincal analyst, Alex McCarthy.

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About Coach McKinstry

Coach McKinstry is a UEFA Pro Licensed Football Coach, with a number of successes across his 20+ year career to date. He is currently Head Coach of the Gambia National Team and Head Coach of Gor Mahia FC in Kenya (2022-24) where he won two Kenya Premier League titles (2023-24, 2022-23), and the 2023-24 Kenya Charity Shield, returning the club to the top of Kenyan football.

He was Head Coach of the Rwanda National Football Team (2015-16). Within 17 months he led Rwanda to a number of highs - including their first ever appearance in the knockout stages of a major international tournament (Quarter-finals of CHAN, Jan 2016) and finished runner-up in CECAFA (Dec 2105), being named 'Coach of the Tournament' for his efforts.

Across 2013-14, he was Head Coach of the Sierra Leone National Men's Football team. Within just over a year, he had led Sierra Leone to their highest ever FIFA World and African rankings - 7th in Africa and 50th in the World (August 2014).

He has also been Head Coach of Saif Sporting Club, Bangladesh Premier League (2018-19); and FK Kauno Zalgiris, Lithuanian A-Lyga (2017-18).

Coach McKinstry is a European (UEFA), American (NSCAA) and university qualified football coach and a member of Common Goal.