Operation OKOTOP: Good idea but poorly designed
According to Gor Mahia senior Vice Chairman, David Kiilo, the club will soon initiate a fans recruitment drive in a bid to grow their already leading support base. The exercise is named operation Kogalo Top (OKOTOP) will target the club’s supporters who are professionals but rarely attend matches due to other commitments.
“We have on many occasions received concerns and support from these groups of people and it’s about time we embraced them. Through this project, we will be driving recruitment operations across the country by counties and we start with Nairobi County as the project’s pilot before rolling out to other counties throughout the nation. “The major reason behind this project will be to improve on our player’s welfare and motivational kitty by consolidating all support from these fans to one account.” added Kiilo to the clubs site.
In line with ensuring the project is a success, the implementation team will be open to ideas from various stakeholders to ensure proper channels are set in place for both receipt and expense of the support accorded to the club. “We are therefore calling upon the targeted group to come out and help us make this project a success.” concluded the Senior Vice Chairman.
This blog has been calling for a more aggressive recruitment drive that targets not only Nairobi residents but even those Kogalo fans who live in the diaspora. Yes there are Kogalo fans in North America, Europe, Australia and even other Africa countries. However this particular project announced by Mr Kiilo is short on ambition and limited in scope. If you tell people that you are simply looking for money to motivate players, you will likely not get the massive response you are hoping for.
Think big and lay out a business vision
As pointed out here in the past, in order for Gor Mahia to eventually catch up with the likes of ENPPI, TP Mazembe and Al Ahly , the club must lay out a long term plan. The club must build an asset base. Start by reclaiming the land that was donated to the club in Embakassi and is now occupied by squatters. Use this to build facilities that can be rented out to other clubs such as playing fields, a gym, a basketball/volleyball court, a social hall etc. It is incumbent on the club chairman to lay out a realistic vision of where he wants to take club in the next five years, explain how much it will cost and explain step by step how the club plans to get there. If he hopes to appeal to professionals as he claims, he is going to need a better pitch that explains how the club can become self sustaining instead of constantly depending on handouts.
Lay out a technical vision
That the club is badly lacking in technical off the field aspects has been mentioned many times on this blog. But it warrants repeating. Coach Logarusic himself once said he was shocked and appalled when he arrived in Kenya and found that he had to teach basic ideas about tactics to players in their twenties yet in Europe these ideas are well known by 14 year olds. It is no wonder therefore Kenya players are far behind their European counterparts. Its like comparing a group solving problems with primary school mathematics to a group solving problems with PhD level mathematics.
The importance of youth development cannot be gainsaid. A youth development program will eventually produce better players who will in turn win more matches against the likes of ENPPI and even more importantly it will enable the club to sell 1 or 2 players to European clubs every year. In this way, the investment in youth development will eventually pay for itself. Virtually all of Kenya’s players who attend trials in Europe fail those trials and it is down lack of youth development.
Emphasize Transparency and Accountability
One of the biggest concerns of fans today is where the money the club receives goes. Fans are dubious about whether the money is being properly used. Unless the club allays fears, chances are they will not get the massive response they want. The club can allay fears by hiring an accounting firm to publish a monthly audit. Many of these fans whom Mr. Kiilo is targetting are investors who by their nature intently study the finances of a company before they invest in it. So Mr. Kiilo and his team should know that these fans will be expecting the same from the club before they pour their hard earned money. As much as they support Kogalo, they shudder at the thought that their money will be miss-appropriated.
Summary
Raising money to motivate players is a good idea. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with wanting to motivate players more. But the players already get a winning bonus so chances are more bonuses will not accomplish much more. Rather than focus on shortt term gain, why not lay out a long term plan ? I can guarantee Mr. Kiilo that he will get a better response from fans with a long term vision instead of simply saying they want to motivate players.
Over to to the bloggers branch. What are your views on operation OKOTOP
@ admin u have said it all and they should note the concern raised as regards accountability,transparency and long term plan than are much more binding than then myopic short cut deals.
Totally in agreement with @Admin & O.Trailer post above. What is driving our EC is how to milk this club at the slightest opportunity available. Our one Mr.Kilo who last year was one of the three masterkeers alongside Faiz and Bwana that master-minds of the “Village style” disco cum “Open days” is a very forgetful fellow. THINK BEYOND THE BOX OUR EC!
I have been attending AFC matches and believe me not this guys are the most organized in gate collection using the modern and simplest receipting technology. How about K’Ogalo matches you will be surprised that they only rely on a “STAMPED” but out dated tickets printed I don’t when. This clique are some of the most corrupt, inept, confused,irresponsible ,barbaric,uncouth and insensitive within our EC. Every time it’s money,money money with out putting proper mechanism for accountability and transparency in place first and foremost.
Infect there targets is non other the middle class , read professionals. OKOTOP brand is outrightly disgusting as the name sound in LUO language ( Rotten from Outside).
As the EC comes with these issues I believe it’s time we ‘audited’ their performance as they are now on their mid term. What were their pledges and have they been able to achieve them. There was the issue of building a stadium, having a hostel for the players, lifting the league etc.
Can Kilo come out and tell us how they are going about achieving these noting that their terms are about to end. E.g to build a stadium we need land. How far have they gone in recovering the Gor land. How much have they done to get us a better sponsorship deal or even attract more sponsors. What have they done to stump out hooliganism? These and many other pledges should be put in the open before we rate this EC. I wish for the day TB, Faiz, Kilo etc will adress us on these issues
Kwani Gor has no marketing function? You can tell that this idea came from someone with no idea on how to create a hype. Even the name is not catchy for a marketing Blitz. Failure before take-off.
Please engage a professional to do for you marketing. Our Shemejis despite poor performamce go the Zuku deal after the Smart Tv failed. Our EC cannot be felt to be doing anything. We cannot rely on gate collections at this point in time and try to hog publicity at any occassion
I believe it’s also worthy to note a good idea as GOOD and appreciate the effort, take it through it’s baby steps and model it into a super project with time. If we want to live on shooting down every idea simply because it does not project a big leap to greatness then we stand to move nowhere closer to the so called African greats (Mazembe, Al Ahly, ENPPI and the likes.
Lets appreciate small bites, chew and swallow then build up from that.
This has been said over and over again, you wonder if Mr. Killo himself believes his own words.
You will also be at loss how come Ingwe is always ahead on issues development, just begin with the kind of bus they acquired, salaries and allowances paid promptly to their players without the noise and cry of this and that, the medical cover etc.Yet we have a better sponsorship to theirs and by all means our gate takings is far much higher.
I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow Ingwe presents a cute architectural design for financing and a ground breaking ceremony as we remain stuck with castles built every electioneering year!
Mark you K’ogallo elections are to be held this year. No surprise. Money must change hands and old women and non football fans must be ferried. Where does the money come from?
You wonder how much we save from recycling match tickets and what unaccountability issues it raises. Who does all these. The OKOTOP thing only gives an impression that the guys have run out of fleecing ideas and are now reaching out to people who are not aware of their mischief on the ground! No wonder the whole thing begins with money and ends with welfare.
How long does it take to fence the land donated by the retired President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi in Embakasi?
Its even worse to know that fans are part and parcel of this confusion and barbarism. Just attend the so called AGM cum Elections and witness for yourself how its done.
While I really appreciate that K’galo has won 2 matches in the recent past, I don’t think that this is cause for celebration as if “we’ve already won the league.” In fact a critical look at the results shows that there’s not much in terms of improvement in the area of our style of play or goals.
1.We won the derby 1-0 but AFC have not won a match in the “digital dispensation” and were even beaten by City Stars 2-1. The team is currently in wrong end of the table. BTW Disi when did AFC last win a match?
2.We won 2-0 against Muhoroni Youth, but this is another a struggling team at the wrong end of the table.
3.In both matches we owed it to our “Jagoal” for keeping the score clean, our midfield is still below par. We survived coz of poor finishing by the other teams. In Africa and CECAFA we won’t be lucky just at look what ENPPI did to us. Most teams are currently outplaying us but we are lucky that they are not converting their chances. With Dan” Flava” netting two crucial goals, despite our style of play not favouring him. And someone still says we need a natural goal scorer?
4.We lost to Tusker in the top eight but I think the master of the mind games ,Coach Logarusic, has also decided like most of us that this Cup is 3rd in priority that’s why he fielded many reverse players. If he can pull off a win in the return leg, he will have showed his mettle more as a tactician as well a mind game specialist.
5.However,some Kudos to Logarusic, I’ve never doubted him administratively and he has confirmed it by concentrating on the league rather than the top 8 cup. But my advise to him is sign to very creative midfielders (na unaweza kuvuka boda for this talent) and secure the league with 5/4 matches to spare like the Man Us , Barcelonas and Bayerns. The league title is paramount, then we take on CECAFA teams. Let it not be like last season when the title slipped our grasp by a whisker (remember the 3 points we dropped against relegated Oserian). This year we’ve already dropped 4 points against bottom of the log Homeboyz and Sony Sugar.
6.As for the EC, reduce your numbers first , pursue accountability and transparency-e.g restart announcing home gate collections and remember gate collections for the ordinary” Russia” fans are what sustains the club in good and hard time. Good soccer and goals are key to expanding the fan base.
My condolences to Rama for losing your sister, may the Good Lord be at your family’s side during these trying times.
The name looks scarey (Does the name originated from Turkana) did the idea come from all the EC or just a section of the EC