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<\/p>\nFor several weeks now, there have been rumors that fake tickets are being sold at Gor Mahia matches. These rumours first became prominent when it emerged that during the match against Sofapaka, the fans who were throwing objects at linesman were unruly fans who entered for free or at throwaway prices. It has<\/p>\n
According to sportnewsarena.com , Chairman Ambrose Rachier believes that some members of the committee are printing separate tickets alongside the official tickets. And it has emerged that during their 2-0 win over Ulinzi, several people were arrested for selling ‘fake’ tickets.<\/p>\n
If people have indeed been arrested, then this is good news. If there are people in police custody, it should not be difficult to find out who is generating those fake tickets. Mr. Rachier can use his connections as a prominent attorney to expedite the investigation.<\/p>\n
This is especially important since as sportsnewsarena reports, it’s believed that some of the club’s executive committee members are behind the sale of the tickets. According to a source at City Stadium, over 1,500 fans watched the match from the stadium’s main stand and over 2,500 were at the Russia side of the stadium.<\/p>\n
During the Ulinzi match, main stand fans were charged Ksh 600 for a total of Ksh 900,000, while terraces fans were charged Ksh 300 for a total of Ksh 750,000. This should have translated to a total of Ksh 1,650,000. Only Ksh 900,000 was tabled which means someone walked away with Ksh 750,000. There is no way that this kind of theft should be allowed at time when players are threatening to leave the team during the transfer window due to lack of payment.<\/p>\n
In the end, after deductions for stadium fee, security fee and paying some of clubs debtors ahead of the match, the club was left with only Ksh,300,000 according to sportsnewsarena.<\/p>\n
Rachier is said to be furious. We hope that he can channel that anger towards an investigation that will determine who is the culprit.<\/p>\n
Numerous initiatives have been announced to stem the ticketing graft that is rampant at Gor Mahia matches. Exactly one year ago, teh club announced a partnership with Diamond Trust Bank and Pay Gate in a pilot programme that was to see fans use automated cards instead of paying cash directly to watch matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe shall be using the card system service provided by Pay Gate for our match against City Stars. This will involve use of temporary chip cards that will be tapped for one to access the stadium. No cash will handled at the match venue and these cards will be retained at the point of entry. Diamond Trust Bank will offer the banking solution,\u201d club secretary general Chris Omondi was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
The club was aiming to do away with paper ticketing and will hence automate all the gates in a bid to end loss of revenue from gate takings. But that idea too has fallen by the wayside like many other ideas.<\/p>\n
This is the kind of madness that should be stopped:<\/p>\n
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One issue that has been brought up over and over is the fact that the club has an archaic constitution that lends itself to appointing incompetent or corrupt EC members, most of whom fans do not know.<\/p>\n
The constitution ought to be amended so that the only electable positions are Chairman and one Vice Chairman. In Lieu of having multiple EC positions, the club should source for competent professionals to run the club.<\/p>\n
The first position is Operations Manager. This is preferably a former player who is in charge of day to day logistics like booking training grounds, booking stadia, arranging transportation etc.<\/p>\n
The second position should be that of General Manager who is in charge of marketing and promoting the club, sourcing for sponsorship, payroll, accounting etc. This individual should be on a performance contract. The more money he brings in, the more money he gets paid.<\/p>\n
This way we can root out idlers and replace them with people who can implement the numerous ideas that have been suggested on this blog and elsewhere. Issues like transparency, membership drives, #350100, SACCO, Diamond trust etc. All issues that have fallen by the wayside because there is no one with enough motivation to pursue them. In fairness to the club EC, some of them are hard-workers. But many have no time and there is often infighting among EC members which stalls ideas. This is why they should be replaced by professionals.<\/p>\n
It is time to amend the constitution which was likely written in the 1960s or 1970s and bring it into the millenium. Amrbrose Rachier can lead this charge and add to his legacy as club chairman.<\/p>\n