Let’s sell Gor to a strategic investor and reap benefits

An interesting conversation took place this past week on Gor Mahia’s social media pages. The debate was about what would happen should some Mr. Money Bags come along, buy the club outright and take us places.

It was interesting to read the comments and also see how blind loyalty can be a dangerous thing. First, the idea of having a tycoon pump in money into the club came about when some of the fans were impressed with what Mohammed Dewji is doing at Simba Sports Club of Tanzania.

Just a decade ago, Simba was nowhere near Gor as far as pedigree goes. I remember Gor Mahia beating the Dar es Salaam red shirts at will whenever we faced them in any match - friendly or competitive. We were always “K’Ogalo” and Simba were the minnows who had to bow down and worship at our feet.

Then life happened. As the Tanzanians developed and invested in structures to improve their lot, we chose complacency and never-heard-of plain old idiocy in running the affairs at Gor Mahia. As Simba made strides forward, we copied them, making huge strides backwards.

Then we reached the bottom of the barrel and the powers that be, content with the affairs at our beloved club, rested on their laurels, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day. 

In the meantime, Simba were raiding our changing room, taking off with our star players at will. It is usually painful to watch people like Joash Onyango and Francis Kahata turn out and put a splendid show for Simba.

These are players who would have loved to extend their stay at Gor Mahia, but we let them go all in the arrogant premise that players come and go but Gor Mahia is there forever. It is hubris at its finest. I believe those peddling this lie should be rounded up alongside those who put margarine in ugali and get a public flogging at Uhuru Park.

To use the old cliché, those in charge have decided to add salt to our injury in that a good number of the players leaving the club do so in the most unprofessional manner ever.

Despite some of us shouting from the rooftops, nobody has ever thought it wise or even prudent to give us a breakdown on how the departing players were sold, and how much the club netted. It was against this milieu that when the issue of the club being handed over to a moneyed person/consortium came up, the opinion was divided.

Of course there are the incurable romantics who waxed lyrical on the club’s string community attachment, adding that giving Gor Mahia to an individual reeks of betrayal of the highest order.

Of course there are those supporting the well-entrenched ‘eaters’ who would never envisage a change in status quo. To this see no evil, hear no evil brigade, Gor Mahia is at its zenith and those talking of bad tidings at the club are daydreamers and saboteurs sent from hell to sow seeds of discord in the beloved club.

However, the truth is that we are in the dire straits and we can do with any help that can come along. I know there are people in the club who know people who can pump money into Gor Mahia.  It behoves those of us with the club’s best interests at heart to cultivate good rapport with such people and have them invest their money in Gor Mahia.

I know this is a view that would be considered treasonable in some quarters but then again, great strides in history have only been made by those deemed to be ‘mad’ by the rest of the society. Let us sell Gor Mahia.