Gor Mahia goes Nairobian and Digital

The Nairobian last Wednesday December 10th hosted Kenya Premier League (KPL) champions Gor Mahia FC to a luncheon at the Standard Media Group Center along Mombasa Road, Nairobi.

During the afternoon treat, the city’s fastest rising paper awarded the former African Champions Sh100,000 for the good performance.

The Nairobian’s Managing Editor Charles Otieno together with George Okoth, Standard Group’s Head of Production also gave the players a cash token on behalf of Gor Mahia’s blogger branch,

The event was organized to launch a partnership deal between the Standard Media Group and Gor Mahia FC in a SMS driven campaign seeking to mobilise fans to raise funds for Gor by texting the word GOR to 22840.

“The Nairobian is a paper that supports and promoted local sports. We would like to instill a culture amongst Kenyans to give first priority to the local teams and sporting disciplines.

Having seen the local league grow in leaps and bounds, we believe it is only by promoting the local game that our local players can benefit and develop to become stars,” said Charles Otieno.

The deal comes at a time when the 14-time KPL champions are struggling to secure a sponsor after the withdrawal of Tuzo’s sponsorship in May 2014. By sending an SMS to the number 22840, fans will subscribe to the service and with it make a donation to the team.

Speaking during the launch, Standard Group’s Online Editor David Ohito said, “Standard Media Group is committed to supporting the best and we are proud to be associated with the champions. We are ready to work with Gor and help the growth of football in the country. The purpose of this partnership is to break news whenever they play, profile every player and archive all information about the team.”

His sentiments were echoed by Associate Editor Sports, Robin Toskin who described the deal as a long overdue partnership which will open an avenue for addressing issues affecting sportsmen and women in the country.

Gor’s Vice Chairman Hon John Pesa and Treasurer Kennedy Otieno thanked the Standard Group for its noble gesture ahead of the new season.

“Gor is not a political party, but a football club, and our main function is to entertain Kenyans through the game of football. I urge our fans to join this initiative to make it a success,” said Pesa.

The former Migori Constituency Member of Parliament added that there is an urgent need for corporates to embrace football as a way of supporting the youth.

“This campaign will supplement the already existing club’s pay bill number 350100, which we started early this year. At the same time, it is sad that Gor has the biggest fan base but is still lagging behind in similar campaigns like the Tusker Jenga Game promotion where we are second to the league sponsor’s Tusker FC,” Pesa lamented.

“Our accounts are empty, and we really need help from both the fans and the corporate world. We need money to sign new players and prepare for the new season too,” added Otieno.

The team’s deputy captain Innocent Mutiso was similarly impressed with the partnership.

“As the saying goes, the media can either build or destroy, but in this case, the Standard Group is building this great club,” said Mutiso.