Let's not be quick to sign foreign players

Dear ladies and gentlemen, as you are all aware, over the last two seasons Gor Mahia and by extension our underachieving yet noisy neighbors AFC Leopards have not been able to sign new player due to a ban from world football governing body, Fifa.

Not that we messed up mightily on the pitch or on our day to dealings, but the sad state of affairs of the ban(s) have been occasioned by our failure to meet contractual agreements with some foreign players we have previously signed and as such they took their case to Fifa. It is indeed an open secret and in fact

I do agree that at some point in time we have faced some financial constraints making it impossible to pay our players.

However, what is making my blood boil and roil is that it is not players committed to our clubs doing this to us, and it is quite disheartening that we find ourselves in this quagmire because of foreign players we have previously signed and failed to pay them.
For example, my beloved Gor Mahia is currently serving a two-window embargo for failing to pay their former midfielder, Jackson Owusu, his dues.

As you read this, another foreign player Adama Keita has reported the club Fifa over his unsettled dues.

The Malian goalkeeper wants Gor Mahia sanctioned unless the club meets his demands.

Which is why I ask myself; do we really need these foreign players?

To be honest, I do not really remember this Adama Keita donning a Gor Mahia jersey. I am actually shocked to realize we actually had a Malian player within our ranks. Who remembers Jackson Owusu?

Our performance over the last two seasons has sunk because of the transfer ban by Fifa courtesy of our failure to pay these foreign players.

I appreciate we as a club has gone through financial stress during that period, but I do believe we dug this hole we find ourselves by ourselves.

Looking through our squad, I do believe we have the quality that if well nurtured can actually take us back to the top.

But we have always had this belief that foreign players are better.

Granted, we have had very good foreign players in the recent past who have propelled us to glory.

I am talking of the likes of Meddie Kagere, Godfrey Walusimbi, Jacques Tuyisenge, Dan Sserunkuma, Khalid Auscho..I can go on and on to the days of Tim Ayieko.

These were very great foreign signings by the club, but what we have had in the recent past and have caused us the current problems cannot pass any quality test.

Which is why I am raising a flag to the club scouts today; we can do away with signing these foreign players unless we seriously need one.

We have quality in our youth team who have in the recent past come in to cover the gaps.

We need to invest in that youth team so that it can be a feeder to the senior team.

Let us avoid this notion that we must have foreign players within our ranks, we can build homegrown stars at Gor Mahia.

On the flip-side, it also calls into question the skills and abilities of those we have delegated the task of finding us players.

I don’t see how we can have journeymen, washed out and below average players donning the sacred green jersey with nothing to show for the hefty pay package and the prestige that goes with playing for K’Ogalo.