50 years later, Gor not a professional outfit yet

This weekend, Gor Mahia will be handed the 2018 SportPesa Premier League title in Kisumu.

Ordinarily, this is meant to be a moment to celebrate especially since it is yet another historic moment for the mighty K’Ogalo, they will be crowned national champions for a record 17th time.

Still I ponder to you, is there anything to celebrate about this particular achievement?

I remain a proud supporter and dedicated fan of Gor Mahia, but it is important that as we mark another milestone in the cherished history of our club, we have to take stock and ask ourselves the all-important question, where are we headed as a club?

This year, Gor celebrated its 50th birthday. There was no pomp, no fireworks – nothing! You read that right, nothing. The only commemoration was through the success our players achieved in the league.

The last three weeks have summed up the state of affairs at K’Ogalo. Players have been on yet another go slow. They have not been paid their salaries and allowances and the results of the disenfranchisement have been evident.

They have not held a proper training session for three weeks and a majority could care less if the club wins its remaining matches or not.

So much has been written and discussed on social media about the issues at Gor Mahia, but unfortunately, nobody is coming up with concrete solutions to sort the mess the club is currently engulfed in.

Sample this: “When I started following Gor 9 years ago, newaonge (we didn’t have) a sponsor. Neither did we have a club bus. We were not buying and selling players. Then Tuzo came in.

They eventually left. After struggling, SportPesa came on board with a great deal. Amounts of sponsorship money never seen before in local football. We can now get involved in the transfer market.

Nonetheless, we still face more or less the same problems we faced a decade ago. Again I ask, where is the growth in relation to the cash infusion into the club over the years?”

These words by my good friend Klaus Opino sum up the frustrations of your average Gor Mahia supporter. It is sad that 50 years after Professor Bethuel Ogot, Tom Mboya and many others sat and formed Gor Mahia, there is no visible and tangible growth in the club.

Save for the titles won, there is really no other measure of success to gauge the past half century of Gor’s existence. Something has to be done, immediately!

The current Gor Mahia administration must realise that club management is no longer just about winning titles. It is about running a thriving business that can be turned into a professional outfit that benefits players, fans, management, sponsors, stakeholders and goes beyond these to have an impact regionally, on the continent and hey why not dream?

Even have reach internationally. Gor Mahia can no longer retain the status of a social welfare club it had when it was formed on February 2, 1968.

We must be alive to the fact that so much has changed in sports management and Gor Mahia cannot continue living in the past.

I do appreciate what the management has done over the past decade but a bus or a sponsor is not enough, we need to do more so we can have issues like players going on strike over unpaid wages in the rear view mirror.

Gor Mahia must recruit a financial manager who will handle finances matters especially when the chairman is unavailable.

It is important that a functional secretariat with competent staff and a marketing manager is established to brand the club as a product that can attract partners.

This is not the first time I have voiced my opinion on this and I will not tire until the day Gor Mahia is professionally run.