Rebrand Gor through focused management

By Omulo Okoth

Gor Mahia will today hold elections at the Nairobi City Stadium.

From the look of things, Nairobi lawyer, Ambrose Rachier is headed for re-election. I doubt if his challenger, John Omondi, described as businessman in the aviation industry, will pose any serious threat to Rachier.

What has caught my attention is the low-key build-up to the elections. This is a pale shadow of the kind of campaigns that would precede the club’s elections a decade ago.

Seeking posts in Gor, their rivals Luo Union and AFC Leopards, was something akin to parliamentary politics. What became of countrywide campaigns that excited fans of these community clubs? The fight between Dan Owino and Rading’ Omolo for the top seats in Luo Union sent the football fraternity on the edge.

So furious and vicious were the fights, which only ended at the intervention of senior personalities from Nyanza who suggested a coalition management.

Owino, fresh from diplomatic posting in Germany and chairman of a State parastatal, became executive chairman.

More trouble

Omolo, then flamboyant and fabulously rich businessman, took the chairman general’s post. But the club was soon headed for more trouble, given the two centres of power, and it split into Re-Union and Luo United.

In Gor, competing forces also revolved around powerful politicians from Nyanza. Indeed, those seeking seats in Gor read like who was who in Luo politics.

With the late Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Robert Ouko, as the patron, and David Opar as chairman, another group coalescing around the late influential and savvy retired senior civil servant and football administrator, Job Omino, propped up Zack Mbori to the chair.

Financial muscle

During the campaigns, Luke Musiga threw his hat into the ring. But he could not match the influence, grassroots organisation and the financial muscle of the Mbori team.

Then rivalry between club members who socialised at Nairobi Club, and those who patronised Rescue Club ensued. The latter prevailed as it perfected the war of propaganda better than the Nairobi Club group, who were wealthy elite whose programmes made little sense to majority of the membership.

Due to intense politicking, Mbori (Nairobi Club) did not seek re-election, leaving the stage to his able vice, Oyieng’ Odolla, who served for two terms amid claims of political interference.

However, it was during his term that Gor became the first Kenyan team to win a continental title, the Nelson Mandela Cup, in which they beat Tunisia’s Esperence in 1987. Hotelier Joe Ogode, lawyer Maxwell Ombogo and actuarial specialist, Leslie Okudo followed in quick succession.

But after that historic victory, interest in Gor rose to an all-time high. However, there is little to show for all the interest shown by the community’s big wigs in terms of development.

That is why Rachier should marshal his troops and deliberate on modern club management, where marketing will play a huge role. Politics will only distract the club.

While clubs like Mathare United, Sofapaka and Thika United continue to grow, Gor and Leopards stagnate because their fans are stuck in a time warp.

They think they are still the same brand they were two decades ago. Why would Mathare land a Sh20m deal with Kenya Data Network while Gor still depend on handouts from Rachier and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to survive? Why are Leopards squabbling between the Duncan Angode-Alex ole Magelo axis and Julius Ochiel and Robert Asembo group when they should be busy preparing for Confederation Cup? Politics, pure and simple.

There are powerful political forces fueling the embers of these squabbling.

And politicians will only be happy to get mileage from the clubs, and little positive legacy to bequeath our youth, who are jobless, yet hugely talented in large numbers.

—The writer is The Standard Sports Editor

iomulo@standardmedia.co.ke