Gor mahia to miss out on millions: Short-term contracts deny local clubs transfer revenue

Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions Gor Mahia are once again set to miss out on millions of shillings in transfer fees following the departure of their key players.
Failure by the club to offer their players long-term contracts has come to haunt them, allowing them to leave for free.
Already, Ugandan striker Dan Sserunkuma is reported to be heading to Tanzanian giants Simba in a Sh8.1million move but surprisingly Gor Mahia will not get even a single cent as the player’s contract has run out.
Tanzanian daily Mwanaspoti revealed this week that Sserunkuma met Simba officials last Thursday where he agreed to join the club and could play his first match against rivals Yanga.
The newspaper quoted Simba chief scout Zacharia Hanspoppe confirming the successful talks with the club’s top brass. Hanspoppe said the Ugandan forward is expected in the Tanzanian capital on Wednesday to seal the deal.

Simba are desperate for a goal-getter especially after the injury of former KCB striker Paul Kiongera Mungai and with their crucial derby against Yanga just two weeks away, they are working round the clock to get a replacement.
“Sserunkuma was here and we had very successful talks with him and I can confirm that he will be joining us on Wednesday. He said his contract with Gor Mahia was to end on December 2, that’s why he will be flying to Dar es Salaam on December 3 to seal the move as a free agent,” Hanspoppe told Mwanaspoti.

He revealed that Sserunkuma had initially asked for Sh9m (100, 000 dollars) for his move before the two settled on a figure of Sh8.1m.
Apart from Sserunkuma, Godfrey Kizito is another player who is also expected to leave the KPL champions on a free transfer.
Kizito told MTNFootball.com that after the end of the KPL he travelled to Vietnam for trials and all went well. “I signed a pre-contract with a team in Vietnam and hopefully I will be headed back there,” he is quoted by MTN.
He added: “I think I have played my part by helping the team retain the league title and I am looking at other options now,” said Kizito.
Before joining Gor Mahia Kizito featured for Vietnamese club Saigon Xuan Thanh.
Contacted Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier defended the club insisting that most of the established players prefer to sign short-term contracts.
“First of all, there is no confirmation about the transfer money being paid to Sserunkuma. I talked to him and he said nothing has been offered to him yet. Having said that, we have experienced a big problem in tying such experienced players to long term deals. They are simply unwilling to commit to anything more than one year so that they can leave without any issues,” he revealed.
Without a sponsor, Gor Mahia would have benefitted a great deal from the expected transfer fees from sale of players.
Gor have also had to develop players loaned to the only to leave for free such as Kevin Omondi (Fisa Academy) and Timothy Otieno (Talanta).