Aduda: Hooliganism scaring away sponsors
CEO Omondi Aduda is unhappy with the behavior of a section of fans following the match against USM Alger
Additional reporting from the Nation
Gor Mahia CEO Lordvick Aduda has hit out at fans following scenes of hooliganism during the Caf Champions League clash against USM Alger on Sunday at Kasarani.
K’Ogalo lost 2-0 on Sunday to bow out of Africa’s premier club competition 6-1 on aggregate having gone down 4-1 in the first leg in Bilda, Algeria.
Disappointed, the Green Army resorted to breaking the gate to the stadium, disfiguring chairs, throwing stones and other forms of missiles on the pitch during and after the match.
Aduda revealed that the club is contemplating partnering with security officials in its upcoming local and continental matches to deal with the ‘criminals’ soiling the image of the club.
“The conduct of our fans cannot be tolerated anymore and now it is evident some of them have turned into criminals. Why should they use acts of hooliganism to vent their anger after losing a match? I was shocked that they broke the gate, destroyed chairs and threw stones in the stadium while hurling abuses at the club officials. It is not right at all,” he said.
“We have been looking for sponsors and part of the Keroche management which had supported us financially were in the stadium. Which brand can accept such kind of behaviour and still invest in the club? It is good to tell them the truth even if I will be crucified. Unless they style up, we are working on a mode of dealing with their criminal acts,” he added.
The veteran administrator hinted at a fine from the continental governing body, Caf, at a time when Gor is in deep financial crisis.
“Gor Mahia fans don’t learn and their actions have cost the team a lot in the recent past. Last season we had to pay Sh2.5 million as fine yet they are the ones yapping all over that the officials misuse clubs money. They are the ones who elected the current office bearers and are those fines not paid from the club coffers?” posed Aduda.
Aduda also took issue with a section of the fans who wanted to gain entry into the stadium without buying tickets yet the online portal was open since Tuesday last week.
“Some fans send one shilling to buy a ticket for a match worth Sh200 and above while others use forwarded text messages to show they have paid. We are fed up with their behaviour and something has to be done to stop them,” he offered.
The 18-time Kenya Premier League champions resume league action on Wednesday against Nzoia Sugar.
On this one I support Aduda. We seem not to know the difference between international and local matches. So to whom were the fans protesting? To CAF? To the match officials? Some current crop of so called fans do not seem to understand the pains of a ban or fine, to them there is nothing to lose, other people will take care as they sit back and demand for success even as they give the team a very bad name.
No sponsor worth its brand name will touch such a team, that we must internalise quickly. NONE. Not Keroche, not Brookside, not anyone, and it’s because of us supporters. Perhaps we should be banned locally and internationally for a lesson.
@Ja Thur gi ji, when one fan told me that he doesn’t care whether we are banned or not because afterall we were losing i just realized that most of our fans are not aware of football dynamics. Did the fan know that losing to USM would still leave us in CAFCC competition?
Why did we have to wade teargas as we went to watch the match? Isn’t our guys and not the police who wanted to gain free entry into the stadium? I doubt whether the police would just start beating up fans who are peacefully lining up to enter the stadium. Why do the fans, knowing very well tht the team has no sponsor, still want to get in free? We need to do serious soul-searching as fans
I have a good idea. Why not sell gor mahia to wazito fc owner for 3 years so that it can be properly structured?
Kwee wiyi…
Hooliganism 30%, Lack of Accountability and transparency 70%
Aduda follow up or ask a certain Jasego and your fellow ECs who is/are known to have the audacity to question the Nairobi County Police Commissioner every time the police attempt to take action against these goons.
Was’nt the ticket thief in Kisumu was saved by Treasurer Bolo.
The solution is simple tell fans to present their e-ticket transaction at the entry point or gate and if the details are genuine then let the e-ticketing personnel generate a receipt for the fan to enter.
If the e-ticket transaction is fake/invalid let the reason be printed and the goon be denied entry.
A computer terminal and printer at each entry point should suffice but have sufficient entry points.
It’s actually very simple the operater just keys in the mpesa transaction number and the computer prints a valid or invalid ticket whereby the fan is allowed or denied entry.
Let additional police be at the entry points to maintain law and order there.
However where GM has reached (sunk) I feel only members cum season ticket holders should be allowed to watch GM matches. That is the only way to dismantle these EC / owner led cartels who are ever “sympathetic” to goons who deny the club the much needed revenue to pay salaries and medical bills for its players.
So it’s not hooliganism that is scaring away sponsors and genuine ticket paying fans it’s mismanagement, vested interests, lack of accountability, incompetence put simply IT IS THE EC AND YOU THE CEO.
You cannot have dogs stealing your supper every night for 8 years yet you keep shouting at the dogs, identify the dog owner(s) and deal with her/him/ them.
Gor Mahia fans are of no economic benefit to the club. None at all, but instead, they are a very expensive baggage for the club to tug along. Whether home or away matches, these fans just paint the worst picture of the club. If it is high time that Aduda and company operated as if this club does not have fans. Let them be locked out of Gor Mahia matches. They don’t pay entry fee yet they wreck havoc that is very costly to the club. Wakae mbali even if they are sons and daughters of ng’ane makang’ane. Bure kabisa.
38′ Nzoia 0-2 GM
FT Nzoia 0-2 Muguna (10′ and 27′).
Am overjoyed at our first clean sheet and in an away match. Kudos to Mapigano, defence and whole team in that order. Sometimes the noise we make here is justified. We had this fiery argument about Muguna when Oktay kept on sidelining him and now we can all attest we had a point. Let us hope he stays fit in the face of our misfiring frontline.
The real problem isn’t the fan. The fan being a non thinking believer is beholden to the management (in)actions. There must be an office bereft of nincompoops whose sole purpose is to pilfer and bring ukubwa and gonya mentality.
The office ought to take time and ask themselves pertinent questions:
1. Are we better of an an N.G.O, pseudo govt entity, company or just a club that can be folded anyhow.
2. Does management have the capacity to build Gor to be a serious player in continental soccer.
3. Are there true fans and what are their categories e.g season ticket holders, per game fans, social media fans.
Then if we are to be a company it ought to be registered and run as one with the ultimate aim of making profit at the year’s end.
But the way Gor is structured it is someone’s milch cow.
Congrats to the team. Where did striker Oalo go to? I hope what i am hearing that Gor contributed nothing towards Philemon’s surgery is wrong. I hear Olunga. Musa, Joash and friends/fans are the ones who assisted.
With today’s win contributions in this wall will reduce tremendously
@Dan Original, I too contributed. How much did you contribute?
Aduda talks too much…am I the only one who feels so?Aduda this… Aduda that…when it comes to accountability Aduda lal…sundu paka