•Only a fortnight ago, players downed their tools, demanding to be paid salaries for the month of February and March.
•In a recent interview with a popular vernacular station, the newly elected club treasurer Dolphine Anyango sensationally claimed the club owes chairman Ambrose Rachier a whopping Sh100 million.
Image: FILE
There is a serious malaise afflicting Kenyan football, which is why we perennially wallow in murk and mire as other countries register great strides and realise palpable gains.
We have witnessed more spectacles behind the scenes than on the pitch. Lately, Kenya's most popular club Gor Mahia have been in the thick of things, hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
One wonders why the 18-time top tier champions, who once stamped authority on the continent by clinching the Africa Cup of Winners Cup in 1987, still languish in utter misery mostly occasioned by a leadership lacuna.
In a recent interview with a popular vernacular station, the newly elected club treasurer Dolphine Odhiambo sensationally claimed the club owes chairman Ambrose Rachier a whopping Sh100 million.
Her message might have been calculated to absolve Rachier from the financial woes bedevilling the club but all her attempts blew up right in her face. Rachier has since trashed the claims, saying he had no idea where they actually came from.
Really? Could Madam Odhiambo have been so inebriated as she sat in the studio waxing lyrical about a fictitious debt?
Insiders say a suave Rachier had stealthily deployed Odhiambo to test the waters but both decided to chicken out after the kitchen proved too hot in the process.
Such incidents have become synonymous with K’Ogalo. The Kenyan giants apparently thrive in pandemonium.
Only a fortnight ago, players downed their tools, demanding to be paid salaries for the month of February and March.
A player, who spoke on condition of anonymity, for fear of reprisal, told The Star that they had resolved to avoid the virtual training program until the club offsets their pending dues.
“We have been training as we patiently awaited the management to address the issue of our salary arrears. All the while, the management gave assurance that all would be well. But by Friday morning, we had not seen any progress and so we resolved to stop training until our demands are met,” said the player.
Nobody really knows why Gor owes players money given Rachier has been on record extolling their sponsors Betsafe for continuing to issue them sponsorship money amidst the Covid-19 crisis.
In an attempt to explain the situation, Odhiambo said the wage bill is so high, noting she took over when the club’s monthly wage bill stood at Sh5.5 million. Odhiambo said she inherited a huge debt of over Sh200 million.
There is a widening chasm in leadership too. Reports indicate Rachier and Onyango are allegedly at loggerheads with club secretary general, Sam Ochola.
For instance, whereas Ochola has been advocating for an online merchandise sale through Jumia platform, Odhiambo insists on sale via a merchandise shop located at Pioneer House along Kenyatta Avenue.
Early in the year, Ochola went ahead to pen a letter that agreed to a broadcast deal between Startimes and Football Kenya Federation but Rachier dismissed his decision as unilateral. Apparently, the biggest threat to the Gor's existence is mediocre leadership and the club's downfall is self inflicted.