By Sulayman Bah
Peter Bonu Johnson was referred to as Gambia’s national team 
coach at a CAF World Cup review session in Egypt where he and technical director Ebrima Manneh exclusively featured.
The Cairo convergence was tailored for only Confederation of African Football affiliate member association’s national team coaches and technical persons.
Erstwhile Gambia U-17 assistant gaffer Ebrima Manneh serving in the TD role descriptively fits the criterion for attendance but question marks lingered over that of programme compatriot, Bonu.
The storyline offered by the federation to explain the situation was negotiations are on between Mr Johnson and national team gaffer hirers –the Ministry of Youth and Sports– for a deal to be brokered.
The conclusions drawn are that Bonu remains the preferred man to secure the managerial job and thus the FF found no need to block him off from the Cairo gathering despite not being contracted.
Ideally, with the Gambian national team participation in Senegal’s four-team exhibition championship staged by FIFA licensed player agent Samba Diallo, it would also have been expected he would be barking instructions from the dugout as the team’s tactician.
However, to the surprise of football-lovers, fresh faces were drafted in such as Real de Banjul’s Matarr Mboge, Steve Biko’s Abdoulie Bojang and Foday to take charge.
The appointment of the trio – albeit reportedly on temporarily basis– triggered a mold of uncertainty begging the question where lies Bonu’s fate.
None of the parties involved in the contract negotiation will provide answers to questions over who permanently sits at the Scorpions managerial helm.
National Sports Council’s Deputy Executive Director Marcel recently merely told Foroyaa Sport ‘there are modalities and procedures involved to hiring the services of a coach’ but ‘the process is still on.’ He wouldn’t be drawn into whether or not candidates are being shortlisted.
Gambia has only the Local-based African Nations Cup (CHAN) to play for to be held in Rwanda after missing out on the 2015 Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The Scorpions were due to face Seychelles in the preliminary round qualifiers had not for a two-year suspension imposed by CAF for age-cheating –been lifted only in October.]]>
