Gor Mahia should be run by competent people, Elected officials incapable
Over the past few years, this column has raised the alarm over the gross incompetence, ineptitude, corruption and opacity with which Gor Mahia Football Club is operated. However the most recent events that have caused Gor Mahia to be on the verge of being disqualified from the 2023-2024 Africa champions league have brought the issue of incompetence and corruption at Gor Mahia FC to the forefront. In summary, Gor Mahia is on the verge of losing its place in the champions league due to non-payment of monies owed to three players: Adama Keita, Jules Ulimwengu and Sando Yangayay. The players added little or no value to the club and were likely signed at the behest of club officials who hit should be noted, have a habit of making money by demanding a cut of international players sign-on fees.
Other East African Teams are making strides
While Gor Mahia is rooted in mediocrity, other East African sides are making huge progress. In the 2022-2023 season, four East African teams reached the group stage of the Africa champions League: Vipers FC of Uganda, Simba of Tanzania, Al Hilal and El Merreikh of Sudan. The common denominator among all these teams is that they are run by competent, qualified professionals, not elected officials
The solution
The club needs to change course. Elected officials are grossly incompetent, inept and corrupt. Fans should beg the club Patron , the honorable Raila Odinga to step in and appoint a caretaker committee to run the club on an interim basis. Let the club patron step in an appoint a caretaker committee to run this club on an interim basis. The committee should consist of highly competent professionals with corporate experience, who are committed to transparency.
The mandate of this committee should be to transform the club into a well organized professionally run unit where all officials are on a performance contract. Henceforth the club should no longer be run by elected officials.
If a suitable caretaker committee cannot be found then let the club be run by an auditing firm like Price Waterhouse Coopers. The auditing firm should be allowed to take a fraction of the profits generated the club
Elected Officials belong in history
Throughout the world, one would be hard pressed to find any succesful club that is run by elected officials. Clubs like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Man City etc are all run by competent people. Even clubs like Barcelona have elections but the club is operated by a board of directors. Closer to home, the most succesful African teams are all run by competent professionals whether it is Simba Sports Club, Al Ahly, Zamalek, Mamelodi Sundowns etc. None of them are operated by elected officials. Even Simba SC has elections but the elected officials do not run the club. Gor Mahia must also modernize.
Zero Progress after 55 years.
Gor Mahia FC was formed in 1968. It has a massive fan base. It is often able to attract lucrative sponsorship. Yet after 55 years of existence, the club has no tangible assets, is often unable to pay its players and is largely dependent on the goodwill of politicians. Nothing will change if the club continues to be managed by elected officials.
No Trust in officials is why the club is poor
The primary reason why attendance for Gor Mahia matches is low when compared to 10 years ago is because the fans simply do not trust officials with their money. There is a perception that officials are pocketing gate collections. If this club is run transparently, attendance will skyrocket back to the levels it was back in 2010.
This is the same reason why fans are not buying club merchandise. Reports have emerged that some club officials are printing and selling their own club merchandize while pretending that the monies are going to the club.
Bringing in a different group that can run the club in a transparent way will lead the club to success. The club will no longer lose key players to teams in Zambia and Tanzania.
