If Ochola can devolve football, then he is fit to lead FKF
Gor Mahia Secretary General Sam Ochola at his Kileleshwa office in Nairobi on October 5, 2022.
What you need to know:
- During his brief tenure, the smooth-talking businessman has already raffled a few feathers within the club leadership
- Ochola describes his campaign as a football revolution which, should he become the next FKF president, will restore some semblance of respectability to the Kenyan game with a devolved and monetised framework at its core
Die-hard Gor Mahia fans would easily take offence if someone was to brand their beloved K’Ogalo as a once noisy club that used to be run by cartels. But that is precisely how one Sam Ochola perceives the record league champions in Kenya.
Not quite the remarks you would expect from the club's own secretary general. That's Ochola for you. During his brief tenure, the smooth-talking businessman has already raffled a few feathers within the club leadership.
However, on a more positive tone, Ochola is quick to state that all the noise and chaos at Gor Mahia are now a thing of the past. This, he says, is largely due to his sound leadership style, in close collaboration with club chairman Ambrose Rachier, despite only having been in office for just three years now.
Back in August 2020, when he was elected unopposed as club secretary general, a bullish Ochola made a rather bold proclamation to the effect that he was on a mission to sanitise the erstwhile messy club that Gor Mahia was his view; that he was coming in to run the cartels out of town and inject some degree of professionalism in the club.
Three years down the line, Ochola believes he has made significant strides in that direction. He cites nurturing talent within the club’s youth structures, enhancing corporate partnerships for the senior team, building capacity for players and coaches on and off the pitch, as well as working overdrive to significantly reduce the club’s financial baggage as some of his key achievements so far.
But Ochola is only just getting started. He has his eyes on bigger things, having announced his candidature for the Football Kenya Federation presidency. And if you think calling Gor Mahia a noisy team is sacrilegious, wait until you hear what he has to say about the current FKF office.
“The biggest challenge to the growth and development of football in Kenya is poor leadership. Actually, the leadership is bogus. There is a lot of pain and anger on the ground. That’s why I’m coming in, to bring in proper leadership,” he says matter-of-factly.
Ochola describes his campaign as a football revolution which, should he become the next FKF president, will restore some semblance of respectability to the Kenyan game with a devolved and monetised framework at its core.
“We need to ensure that our clubs are making money in any way and in every way. My vision is to turn Kenyan football into a profitable business, so that all clubs have a strategy of making money out of the game,” Ochola says.
Kenyan football management being what it is, especially when there is so much at stake, this is where the rubber meets the road for Ochola, who has graciously acknowledged the warm reception and positive vibe his campaign has received thus far.
To Mr Ochola, be wary of the treachery of the delegates with the votes and proceed with the campaign expecting to be blackmailed and coerced to line a few pockets, if that has not happened already.
That said, if indeed Ochola has the blueprint for devolving football in the country, then why not? He could just be the man with the right prescription to cure our terminally ill game.
