•The frontrunner for the Golden Boot gong believes exiting head coach Johnathan McKinstry laid the ground for a bumper harvest in the continental showpiece.
•The Kenyan behemoths were locked out of the Caf Champions League in the preceding season following a ban from Fifa after they failed to offset debts owed to former players.
Image: HANDOUT
Gor Mahia FC mercurial striker Benson Omalla reckons the Kenyan champions have adequately sharpened their talons to thrive on the continental stage.
K’Ogalo romped to a historic 21st Kenyan Premier League title a week ago with three rounds left to wrap up the season.
They hope to launch a fruitful campaign with sights firmly trained on replicating their momentous triumph in 1987 when they tucked away the Mandela Cup after fending off a vicious challenge from Tunisian giants, Esperance. No other East African side has achieved such a feat to date.
“When the league kicked off this season, our objective was to clinch the title and compete for continental honours. We are all thirsty to stamp authority on the international stage after conquering the local scene,” Omalla remarked.
“Our performance in the Kenyan Premier League attests to our abilities to compete effectively outside the country. We hardly had a meaningful challenger in our quest for a 21st title and it will be exciting to see how the Caf Champions League goes for us,” he added.
The frontrunner for the Golden Boot gong believes exiting head coach Johnathan McKinstry laid the ground for a bumper harvest in the continental showpiece.
“It is unfortunate he will not be part of the exciting journey after working extremely hard to prepare us for the task ahead. We are ready to make him proud though,” he said.
The Kenyan behemoths were locked out of the Caf Champions League in the preceding season following a ban from Fifa after they failed to offset debts owed to former players.
Caf introduced a raft of new rules on club licensing that took effect last season, including a clause requiring all top-flight clubs to own a women’s side or enter into a written agreement with an entity operating a women’s team.
Participating clubs must also adhere to five-pillar criteria; sporting, infrastructure, personnel, administrative, legal, and financial.
Football Kenya Federation Secretary General Barry Otieno said it was the costly legal and financial administrative howler that has left the traditional Kenyan football giants with an egg on the face.
“Gor’s certificate was withdrawn by the Football Kenya Federation’s First Instance Body (FIB) due to violations of Article 60 of the Confederation of African Football’s men’s club licensing rules,” Otieno remarked.
“According to the article, every club requesting a license must demonstrate there are no outstanding payables to current or former personnel as of March 31st of the year in which the Caf club competitions begin,” he added.
Trouble began on July 18, 2023, when Caf notified Gor Mahia and FKF of a complaint about a case that had been determined by Fifa.
The complaint had been raised by Malian goalkeeper Sando Yangayay and Burundian forward Jules Ulimwengu who both cited the club’s failure to honour a promise to settle his overdue payments as earlier agreed. Caf gave Gor 24 hours to settle all the outstanding amounts failure to which their licence would be invalidated.
Unfortunately, Gor Mahia were unable to honour the deadlines set by Caf and FKF had no option but to crack the whip.