Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier has revealed they are closely studying Barcelona's model of generating income to ensure the club doesn't necessarily have to rely on corporate sponsorship to keep their revenue streams alive.
Rachier says it’s a high time Kenyan clubs envisioned novel ways of addressing the perennial dearth of funds, a dire situation that has left most of them sinking to their knees.
His remarks came during a press conference at which he and his AFC Leopards counterpart Dan Shikanda addressed the media on how the government's decision to introduce the 20 percent excise duty would likely affect football clubs in the country.
Rachier said raising revenues from their fan base has proved too tasking and cumbersome especially after Football Kenya Federation decided local matches would be played behind closed doors.
Indeed, Kenyan clubs are currently grappling with dire financial constraints occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic. There has been a huge cutback on the number of fans allowed to access the stadia, compounding the situation even further.
As a containment measure, every top-tier club was initially allowed to bring along 40 people to their matches but that has now gone down to 6, a situation that has smothered the revenue streams even further.
It's equally relieving to hear both Rachier and Shikanda say they are currently sourcing for funds to put up structures on the parcels of land apportioned to both clubs by the late President Moi.
Both teams have been forced to part with Sh10,000 per day to secure Camp Toyoyo grounds where they currently conduct their sessions. Given it high demand due to its high quality and affordability, the facility is sometimes overbooked to such an extent the two clubs are forced to begin their training sessions as early as 6 am.
The best the government could do to assist would be to grant affordable loans to enable the clubs to complete the projects.
But equally interesting is the proposal made by Shikanda that ex-players should consider forming a savings and credit organisations.
The Ingwe boss says they have at least 3,000 ex-players and the club cannot support all of them financially.
During the burial of former Harambee Stars player, Zablon Amanaka, Shikanda was among various ex-players who sent an urgent plea to the existing crop of players to invest when they are still active.
Curiously though, such challenges are not only limited to the world of football. Only last week, AK president Tuwei urged Kenyan athletes to resist the urge of borrowing money from shylocks, warning them of subsequent irreparable financial repercussions.
AK asked athletes to study the existing openings in the world of business that they can successfully pursue, including agriculture, the real estate industry, and the jua kali sectors.
Getting an education in relevant areas such as business administration may also go a long way in helping our sports personalities broaden their perspectives on how best to utilize their vast resources.
