![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.gormahia.net\/images\/fans1.jpg\")
\ncourtesy of thepeople.co.ke<\/p>\n
\ncourtesy of thepeople.co.ke<\/p>\n
Questions about the financial record of the country\u2019s biggest club Gor Mahia continued as the club headed to its elections this weekend. Stakeholders at the club have raised issues with the financial statement read during the aborted Annual General Meeting (AGM) a month ago.<\/p>\n
Opposing supporters for the club\u2019s election are poking holes at the statement that said the club raised Sh9 million from their matches last year. Despite their failure to clinch the local double last season, Gor are by common consent the best club in the country\u2019s football industry.<\/p>\n
Featuring stars like Dani Sserunkuma, Paul Kiongera and David Owino, their talented players entertain and delight us in equal measure, as they dominate Kenyan season after season. However, admiration of their exploits is tempered by the financial advantages that they enjoy compared to other less fortunate clubs.<\/p>\n
Not only do they generate far more revenue than anybody else but one of the main reasons for this substantial competitive advantage is the loyal \u2018Green Army\u2019 who have turned this love for club into a way of life. Their reputation off the pitch also suffered a hit recently in the media when it was \u201crevealed\u201d that this great team was built on a mountain of untoward behaviour on the terraces and outside the stadium, raising questions as to whether this was, to coin a phrase, \u201csupporters fair play.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the books of accounts released by the club include bizarre undertakings and incomes which continue to baffle club members. For example, those present at the AGM disagreed with a gate collection figure that indicated the club received Sh9.1 million. There is also another figure of Sh7.6 million from the Kenya Premier League (KPL).<\/p>\n
In total, including sponsorship, donations and T-shirt sales, the club received Sh38.6 million. Quite why this came as a surprise to some analysts is a little perplexing, given that the club\u2019s accounts have been available to the public for many months. For a football club that averages 5,000 paying supporters per game, it is an insult to basic intelligence that the club did not reach a total of Sh30 million.<\/p>\n
KPL figures indicate that there was a spike of more than 50 per cent to more than two million ticket sales and the Gor Mahia rightly control 40 per cent of the country\u2019s ticket sales. A leading contestant for the club\u2019s elections Tom Ataro said yesterday: \u2018\u2019A number of factors have made us sceptical as to whether we have received all relevant information and explanations necessary for the audit from the management.<\/p>\n
The club management led by Ambrose Rachier however insist the club statement is a true reflection of the affairs at the club. \u2018\u2019We have not been provided with sufficient and appropriate evidence that the management have formally considered and resolved as necessary the issues relating to these comments or that these comments by the individual official,\u201d an official of Wells Fargo identified as Tom Okoth.<\/p>\n
Despite the following that is admirable within the country\u2019s sporting circles, many are questioning the sale of the replica shirts. According to the club\u2019s accounts, T-shirt sales raked in Sh1.3 million, a figure highly doubtable, considering that a single unit costs more than Sh2,000. \u201cThe most conservative figure is that there were more than 2000 T-shirts during any Gor game, which means the club should have collected more than Sh2 million from that sale alone,\u201d said Tom Ataro, another former official of the club.<\/p>\n