Rachier outlines status of club finances and land
Speaking to Citizen Sport, Gor Mahia Chairman Ambrose Rachier gave a detailed report of the club’s finances which suggests that the club is deep in debt
Additional reporting from Citizen Sport
Kenyan Premier League (KPL) giants Gor Mahia FC are shouldering a Sh. 105.5 million in debt burden according a summary of the club’s income and expenditures this season.
Gor’s revenue streams – including sponsorship funds and the sale of club merchandise have raked in Sh. 111.8 million but the KPL champions a massive 217.3 million with the cost of international travel alone eating up a third of that.
International transportation cost Gor Sh.72 million with player salaries and those of the club’s officials amounting to Sh. 62 million.
In a rundown provided by Gor’s chairman Ambrose Rachier, it shows the club also made Sh. 13 million in profit from player transfers while counterfeits meant only a paltry Sh.400, 000 have been collected from the sale of merchandise.
Gate collections from local and continental matches amount for KSh. 7 million while they were also paid a total Sh15 million by continental governing body CAF thanks to a season in which they became the first ever Kenyan team to reach the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-finals.
Rachier stated his desire to trim what he termed a ‘bloated office’ at the club but emphasized such powers can only be available to him once the new constitution – which he said would be ready by May 9 – is adopted.
Land
He also gave an update on the club’s long-drawn-out plan to build its own stadium, suggesting conflicts in location and unresolved land conflict as their biggest setback.
“The Embakasi land has been grabbed and the title deed got lost during Erastus Okuls’s era as the chairman. I’m following up on the Kasarani’s 10-acre piece of land but the problem is the title deed can only be registered in my name.
“The Constitution hasn’t given me the powers to make certain decisions that can make Gor Mahia a business entity,” Rachier told Ramogi FM.
Rachier also announced Gor will start awarding professional contracts to its youth team players in what could make the first KPL club to do so.
A partnership deal with Brookside, which he said will be announced next week, could prove a turning point for the club’s junior team with the extra funds set to be diverted their way.
Gor already agreed a deal with the milk processing company but no contracts have been signed yet and Rachier expects the paperwork to be complete by the end of this week.
“Rogue Players”
The official meanwhile also reiterated his resolve to crack the whip on ‘rogue’ players at the club when the KPL season comes to a close.
Rachier vowed to punish indisciplined players following the extraordinary timeline of events that led to Gor’s exit from the CAF Confederation Cup.
Photos of Gor players lying helplessly on the floor at the airport lounge in Doha, Qatar sparked online outrage and prompted Rachier into calling a press briefing to clear the air over the issue.
He turned the heat on the players and specifically called out Francis Kahata and Philemon Otieno for “conjuring up malicious pictures to evoke sympathy and fake suffering.”
15 million from CAF…and 62 million for officials salary. Awuoro. Now I know why people fight to hold that office. And is it worth competing for only 15 million?
This are nonsense,what is this guy talking about???
Gate collection how much???
Bullshit
The ‘huge debt’ rears its ugly head at the opportune time. I expected My friend turned foe, AR to expound on this matter.
Secondly, I strongly suggest we explore the possibility of partnering with African airlines and tours and travels companies as CAF designated sponsors if international travels and hotels costs 1/3 of the budget ?
Third, why are we still stuck with sportpesa as our official sponsor yet CAF has endorsed 1xbet as the designated tournament sponsor, are we going to be blocking sportpesa logo on our shirts for the next 5 years ?
Lastly, since we now officially know the infamous ‘RS Berkane 6’ i.e the six players that will exit the club on discplinary grounds in June, Why is the coach still talking of interest in retaining their services and why is it that coincidentaly, the same 6 also have their contracts running out in June. Could this infamous incident have been conjured by the same players to force their way out of the club after frustrations with contract discussions ? If that is the case then the issue is deeper than just allowing them to go on discplinary grounds.
Tafakari hayo………
Rachier should be a good Christian and stop being vengeful but forgive.He can’t just be consumed by desire to avenge for this long. Anybody who gets into contact with Rachier here please remind him of forgiveness.We need a strong united and focused Gor Mahia of which Kahata and Otieno should be a part of.
@Moses, thank you for invoking the spirit of forgiveness and what Rachier should do. I would only add that forgiveness is not dependent on one being a Christian or not. It is a virtue that can be cultivated by anyone. Interestingly, it has two sides to it. One, the person who has done wrong taking the initiative to ask for forgiveness which in a nutshell taking responsibility for their action, Secondly the person wronged taking the responsibility to seek the aggressor and forgive them. It would therefor be very interesting if we could encourage the aggressors to actually take the initiative to apologize to the Gor fraternity. If this happens it can really bring life into the team.
Accumulated debts aside, what does the club need to do to register as a business entity? This idea that the title can only be reproduced in AR’s name doesn’t auger well with me and to many Gor Mahia faithfuls. If it is the constitution to be amended then it should be expedited as soon as yesterday. Some teams like Wazito FC are already on overtaking lane and how bad that will for the likes of Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards, Tusker, name them.
Gor Mahia has reached a state of dominance on local league and this has been seen by how they’ve ruthlessly dealt with teams on outstanding fixtures to take a handsome points cushion to stay at the helm. They have also made history by progressing further at the African Confederation Cup level, I mean, it is only bound to get better, unless I’m mistaken.
The club need its own stadium to attain self sufficiency. How much more can one ask of such a club? How then are we expected to compete at the same level with other African clubs with own stadiums if we still have to fight with Stadium Management Board on matters venue lockdown for club international fixtures.
Worse still, when will we ever see the need for, and set up a club house to showcase Gor’s history over the years? Have we been so wrong in our choice of office bearers over the years? Hasn’t anyone ever seen the need of having these things?
Use the opportunity to strengthen Gor and not victimize (delayed discipline) players.
Are the players still being paid?
Will they have missed any salary or allowance because of their actions?
Was the office responsible or contributed to their action?
Have they played any matches after the infamous event and contributed positively
if any of the answers above is yes. MOVE ON BOSS. YOU MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY
Am shocked these criminals are still at gor mahia fc.Rachier,am warning you.The next time you sell tuyisenge to Simba for 20m and these hungry vultures got the wind,there will be a go slow to demand “transfers bonus”These traitors think they are entitled to any income the club generates.They will not give club room to grow financially.These are liabilities to the club.Pliz AR leave these deamons go in peace.
Rachier you are wrong here. Learn to forgive the way we fans have forgiven the office. The mess started with you for not planning well in advance so both the affected players plus officials should take responsibility. What we want is forgiveness and we move on. The club is bigger than you or individual fan. Tit for tat will not help. You are a father to allow these players sit down and solve your issues without airing alarmist news.
I think that looking at Rachier’s released statement that touched on different areas is very informative. I would say that every body has been touched in terms of involvement and responsibility. Here I mean matters Constitution, Investment (Property), Resources ie Players and support of fan base, discipline among many others.
I think that this is basically an eye opener and pointing towards the right direction. This I think should lead us towards taking a collective responsibility of our Club. My thought pattern is We must have good leadership but I must also be aware that leaders do not work in a Vacuum. On matters discipline there is no way round it. If God from whom we get our lives and reference says that He disciplines those that He loves, which human being would think to do otherwise. Spare the rod and spoil the Child.
No matter how mediocre or malicious one is , I strongly believe Form 2 level education is adequate for one to read and understand the article we are discussing .
The article clearly talks about the club having Brookside as a sponsor and that is not to replace Sportspesa but rather to supplement it and being that Brookside is not in competition with the official Caf sponsor , then it is for granted that we can play in the Caf games with Brookside branded outfits meaning we dont have to block the sportpesa , secondly it always beat reason why we had to promote Sport Pesa internationally yet there sponsorship was only for local assignments .
Secondly , one does not need to go to school to understand that one whose contract is elapsing does not need to FORCE his way out of the club and hence relating the indiscipline as a tactic to force oneself out of an expired contract is uneducated propaganda , even propaganda requires some modicum of intelligence .
Lastly on the same players subject , I wish to categorically say that there is absolutely no player who wishes to leave Gor I.e including the ones who had purportedly “Marketed themselves ” , for the simple reason that there is no club better than Gor that has any interest in them , NON and that includes those our non technical lenses tell us to be good , the only other club that can flatter to decieve in terms of remuneration is Afc but again which player would wish to , in terms of career progression , go to a club whose activities are restricted to within our borders with aabsolutely zero exposure .
In any entity , when one recruits , it is done on the fact that you are good and with a role to play I.e you are hired precisely for that reason , and where there is hiring , there will be firing for reasons you would have been given while being hired , in other words you are not being fired for lack of talent , rather you are being fired despite your talent and this aspect is non negotiable though is more easily understandable by people who have run something in the course of their lives , but if you have never run a business or never been in charge of people then you can be excused for thinking with your hearts vis a vis corporate issues .
Otherwise that article contains more serious issues that if tackled comprehensively will tackle all these retail issues that keep coming up with but more importantly one of the issues raised in the article and which is critical was the fact that as currently constituted , a title deed can not be issued in the club’s name but can be issued in Rachier’s name , That is a confession that should have flooded this wall with hundreds of comments but all some people see in the article are opportunities for propaganda and sideshows but now you can now understand under what circumstances the Embakassi land slipped through our hands and the reason some will fight tooth and nail to make sure the present constitution remains. The article contains lots of issues for debate .
Leadership requires a capacity to soberly balance a lot of interests , some conflicting e.g there are some who argue that the players should have been disciplined by now , some argue that discipline is the equivalent of revenge , yet some argue that players should be forgiven for the sake of “unity and focus”-Remember all these are genuine Gor fans and then there are opportunists waiting to pounce and to cap it all we are at the tail end of a season whose title we are yet to wrap up and finally the desire to avoid avoidable legal mud fights -The ability to balance all these is what defines a leader and the reason some of us are not and can not .
I still await the alternative leadership from Team Must Go so that we can have enough time interrogate , otherwise we risk a last minute ambush from “De La Rue “( Wash wash ).
@Teddy Sofaset Branch Entebbe, you are the only voice of reason in this site. Other bloggers do not understand the statement of ADOR and are busy yapping nonsense instead of reading between the lines to understand the contents of the subject matter ADOR had alluded to in Ramogi FM.
I also wish to salute RAMOGI FM for airing Gor Mahia programs every Saturday.
ADOR has spoken well and kudos to him for the achievements we have received as a team. We only need to conquer Africa and turn the club into a business entity and professional outfit.
Mr Rachier, this kind of response is something you would have started doing years ago. Unfortunate that you left late it until when the club was in dire straights. In other words your back is now against the wall. Even though this is not an official financial statement, at least it lets us know what state the club is in, but your intentions do not sound convincing. I am not convinced that your going to the press was about improving management, it was more about getting donations.
Had the E.Okul office made public the problems he was facing about the land maybe the land would have been saved. Gor left it’s land lie idle for years and it got grabbed. Gor officialdom is and has always been about pride, guesswork and on decisions meant to excite the masses. The logistics that the Kasarani plot can only be registered in your name is abit of a far fetched half truth. You do not tell us why? Are you afraid we will not understand? If Gor had a title deed before in form of the Embakasi land what legal basis are you insinuating that the Kasarani land CAN ONLY be registered in your name! …it beats logic. I would conclude that you are not being forthright on this issue.
The criminals are in Gor cause you entertain them, the fans like them cause it’s the same fans who elect them to office. I acknowledge that some of them are elections hopefuls ready to do anything, including sabotage, in hope that your office fails and they get in.
So the Gor constitution does not give you powers to turn Gor into a business.How many years have been in office and when did you realise this? So why not change the constitution!!! …but will the stone throwers allow this. Yes Gor is surrounded by leeches and parasites in green t-shirts and this is because the fraternity and the officials have allowed them.
The Gor problem is not about the players who took photos at the airport, the Gor problem starts and ends with the greedy EC of which you are a part of, officials who let Walusimbi go ‘backdoor’, officials who refuse to address myriad of Gor problems but can easily take selfies while on business class section. Officials who cannot sit infront of the press(AS ONE TEAM) and give coherent and sound financial plans other than individually on their prefered vernacular radio station. For example during this interview, the Chair made several accusations and claims touching on several departments, where were the corresponding section heads to respond on how these problems could be tackled.
As much as Gor might end up taking the league, the club should seriously consider skipping the cafCL next year until some sound financial plan is in place .
Gor Mahia should also stop taking part in ‘greed’ competitions where officials only think of reaping without taking into account the players welfare.
Finally, it’s high time Gor Mahia considered being a Kisumu club rather than a Nairobi club. Getting land in Kisumu would be much easier, the club could easily acquire land big enough to build a stadium and houses for staff and players.
@dinga kudos, although very long article but really comprehensive and well articulated analysis that touches on the issue at stake and not hero-worshiping.cum sycophantic leaning approach. EROKAMANO @dinga keep going osiepa.
Dinga,I hope that you are a registered member of Gor mahia fc. I hope that you are not like Manchester united fans, or Chelsea fans, or arsenal fans,or Barcelona fc fans who can only cry about the coach or the player but can’t do anything. What I mean is that there is no need to talk about Gor mahia fc management if you are not a member. This idea of saying that Gor mahia fc is for the masses and Rachier should explain this or that doesn’t make any sense at all if you are not a member. It’s like you go to tuskys and you demand to know why the shop is not doing well yet you are not a shareholder there. All companies have shareholders meeting where you can ask any questions regarding the running of the organization. In Gor mahia fc, Rachier acknowledged that only 200 people have registered and I believe that only those registered members have got all the right to ask any questions. If Rachier have said very well that Gor mahia fc as currently constituted can’t own a Land due to the current constitution. What Gor mahia fc members can do(not fans) is to change the constitution so that Gor mahia fc can run as an entity and be able to conduct it’s business as Gor mahia fc. As at now Rachier conducts Gor mahia fc business just as a trustee
Many bloggers with empty brains are talking of what they do not know. Running Gor Mahia is not a walk in the park.
On CAF monies, there are lots of deductions that include official allowances, TV broadcasting, fines related to uncouthed behaviour of our fans, logistics etc.
Regarding indiscipline among players and officials, I support chairman. There is no way you can keep indiscipline players in the team. These players have been paid salaries and decided to boycott training leading to loss to Berkane team. They should be serving their suspensions right now as they wait for their final fate.
Gor Mahia must be transformed into a business enterprise in order to attract many stakeholders and form partnerships with foreign teams.
It’s interesting that what has caught the eye of most of the bloggers is the issue of indisciplined players. Nobody has realized that of the thousands that attend Gor matches only 200 are registered members. That means that whatever suggestions/ideas we make are not factored by the EC. We are basically ‘strangers’ to Gor
An intellectual interpretative and analytical summation of Rachier’s interview would conclude that Rachier is trying to reach out to the millions of Gor fans within and without The country about the endless possibilities abounding in Gor were this massive energy channelled into one focussed critical mass .
Second guessing about why now and not before is indeed valid but not helpful because such an argument may be countered by the fact that long long before Rachier , Leslie Okudo proposed those changes but back then like we witness now , the same sabotage disguised as altruistic concerns were raised and an opportunity got lost , Just like that .
So instead of engaging in unhelpful semantics from a distance and on social media , people should just be proactive , become a member and be INSIDE THE TENT where your questions would matter .
The answers we want are within us but if at all you believe Rachier doesnt mean well , as a person who means well as purported , what are u gonna do about it , doing nothing means you are part of the problem , This club doesnt belong to Rachier but neither does it belong to you when you are not a member , so either you become a member or you continue being part of the unhelpful majority .
Thank you all and thanks to chair for finding time to give the statement even though we may have problems agreeing with him. More such information is what we have been missing. But Joods, there are no “demons” anywhere and you have no reason at all to refer to anyone in such terms. I also add my voice to those asking chair to think forgiveness and not vengeance, but talk you must talk to the players as you would your own children.
I have candidly read and analysed the comments above and in my own established opinion cease to further authoritatively comment on Gor matters as a member or stakeholder. I will be Frank to admit am not a registered member and thus with due respect I am just a friend. Otherwise known in our local dialect as jalibamba. It’s been a long interesting journey a d once I do the necessary to register nitaheshimu wenyeji. Gor inawenyewe
@JamriAmbo what we should advocate for is online registration. There was a time Gor had a ‘partnership’ with one of the banks and that would have been a good chance to get the members get enlisted online. Unfortunately our bloated EC cannot see anything like that. I feel pity for and also ‘blame’ AR for our static situation. One because he means well for the club and two because the fellow elected officials whom he has to work with are not interested in any progressive movementt. I believe the new draft laws will open the way for us to match the Sundowns, Zamaleks, Simba, Esperance etc
Having eaten that thing @Jathur gi Ji was curious about , I beg to go a bit off tangent and away from the topic of the day , if you are not willing to indulge me then you have the option of not reading it .
And it is the issue of whether Gor is a community club (Luo ) or not , YES it is , just like Afc is a Luhyia club , Shabana is a Kisii club , Liverpool is for the Liverpool community , Barcelona for the Catalan community etc .
Barcelona is a community club that has since gone Global but the DNA is Catalan , Gor and Afc are Luo and Luhyia clubs that have since gone national but the DNA whether you want to pretend or not is Luo and Luhyia .
The DNA fans of a club are those who support the club for mostly unknown reasons and mostly e.g in my case , by the time they were 2-3 yrs old , the name Gor Mahia were already deeply entrenched in the sub consciousness and locally are 3rd or 4th generation fans in their family , in England we have close to over 15th generation in most clubs , the other non DNA fans have quotable reasons why they support who they support and those reasons can change like you may see locally of former Arsenal fans who now support Chelsea or soon you may see an increase locally of Man utd fans shifting to Man City . A DNA fan does not change .
So in developed countries , differences in religion , ethnicity or regions have been channeled to positive ends and nobody is ashamed to be referred to e.g a Catalan and equally Gor being a Luo club should not be taken to be a bad thing , we have in our lifetime borrowed a lot of things including language and religion from other tribes .
More community clubs should be encouraged and promoted to go national and even International.
Those who care to remember know how engaged Kenyans were when e.g Busia had its community club , Kitale had one , Coast had Mwenge and Feisal , Mt Kenya had Gema , Kisumu had Kisumu Hotstars and Blackstars ( a rivalry intense like of Gor and Afc at its peak ), Mombasa and Nakuru had Luo and Luhyia clubs , all these until somebody woke up one day and decided this was a bad thing . Europe has built theres to what we know now .
So YES , Gor is a community club that has since gone national , nothing wrong with that but just like Liverpool , Arsenal , Man U and Man City now have foriegn owners , thats the direction we will have to go tupende tusipende .
If it is possible for the proud Britons who invented football to give up his club up the rights of their club ownership to e.g an Arab , then its a testament to where we are inevitably heading to .
@ teddy sofa set, if i may ask , how old are you ? You talk too much repetitive nonsense most of the time. Please learn to control your posts
Who are you
Somebody please explain to me why the land in kasarani should be registered in AR’s names and not Gor Mahia?
What does that mean?
@wichkuot,pls read teddys first sentences,he anticipated that there are pple who will be offended by his article and he requested such pple not to read it.pls some time it is wise not to bother commenting on an issue and your information.most thing we learn in school are a repetion of what some learned years back and teachers dont fill like they hav to stop teaching cos they hav been talking the same issue year in year out.@teddy one day this wichkuot person will grow old as i presume heis young..