Mancini given Scorpions top job

Italian amateur coach Luciano Mancini had taken over the running of the Scorpions top job from Peter Bonu Johnson, who had subsequently been demoted to his assistant, Gambia Sports Online can report.

The 56-year-old came on board as assistant coach of the Scorpions in April, but will now take over as coach after the sacking of Belgian Paul Put in November last year as confirmed by officials today in a press conference.

Mancini was manager of the Umbria regional team in Italy before his appointment. His first task will be to prepare the Scorpions ahead of Saturday’s crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier against Morocco in Banjul before flying to Tanzania and then to Algeria for the return leg of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier.

The terms of Mancini’s contract were not revealed but his main objectives will be qualifying Gambia to the nation’s first Africa Cup of Nations finals probably at the South Africa 2013.

It could be recalled that Paul Put [who now coaches Burkina Faso] was fired after the national team failed to qualify for the 2012 CAF African Cup of Nations.