ICT CS Eliud Owalo clears Gor Mahia players bonuses

ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo has promised to assist Gor Mahia in overcoming her perennial financial woes.

Speaking at the club’s breakfast meeting at a Nairobi hotel on Tuesday, where he was the chief guest, Owalo further urged the private sector to partner with community clubs including Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards instead of funding institutional teams ‘that do not have fan bases’.

The CS, who is an ardent football fan, also donated Sh800,000 to the club.

The amount which was handed to club captain Philemon Otieno will be paid to the playing unit as winning bonuses for the last five league matches.

The CS has also promised to donate a bus for the club.

“I watched the (league) game against Kenya Police at the weekend and was impressed with the team’s performances. I urge the club’s management not to make many changes to the playing unit. These players can emulate the squad of 1987,” observed Owalo.

The Gor squad of 1987 which includes the likes of Tobias 'JuaKali' Ochieng, George 'Onyango' Fundi, Tobias Ocholla, and Peter Dawo created history by winning the Mandela Cup continental at the expense of Espérance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia.

The CS added: “I recently had a meeting with the Executive Committee and observed that the challenges at the club are not insurmountable. I will reach out to partners and friends in the private sector and ensure Gor Mahia has a quality bus. Should you win the league, we will also strive to ensure we have an additional sponsor for the continental matches.”

Earlier, club coach Jonathan McKinstry challenged the club’s management to come up with a strategy for becoming a self-sustainable successful sports outfit.

“Just like there was a plan for us to consume this delicious breakfast, a plan that started months ago by the hard work put in place by a farmer somewhere. We also need to plan on how our successful future will look like,” said McKinstry, who’s coached the Uganda and Rwanda national teams in the past.

Club chairman Ambrose Rachier painted a gloomy picture of the club’s finances, a situation he attributed to a decision by former players to drag the club to football's world governing body Fifa in a bid to settle pay disputes.

“We have been forced to pay millions of shillings in fines and interests. I urge the players to consider other means to resolve disputes with the club,” said Rachier.

Rachier also described the club’s bus as a "tattered" one that is unsafe and endangers players' lives during long trips. He requested Owalo to assist in fast-tracking the process of ensuring the club receives a title deed for a piece of land donated by former president Daniel Moi (now deceased) in Kasarani, Nairobi, in the 1980s.

With a record 19 league titles Gor, popularly known as K’Ogalo are the most successful football club in Kenya.

The team has, however, been bogged by financial challenges for the better part of the last decade, and currently lags behind regional peers such as Simba SC, Young Africans (Tanzania), Vipers (Uganda), El Merreikh and Al Hilal (Sudan) and Zesco United (Zambia).

Gor lead the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League title with 56 points from 26 matches, two points ahead of rivals Tusker, with eight matches left until the end of the season.