Gor Mahia football club have a reason to smile as finally FIFA lifted the ban on the Kenya football powerhouse.
Gor Mahia, popularly known as ‘K’ogalo’, or ‘Sirkal’ government) have been serving a FIFA ban since last season for a number of reasons. Some of the reasons why K’ogalo were handed the ban by world’s football governing body FIFA was because the club was riddled with debts to both current and former players.
Another reason why the club was banned by FIFA was that the club had signed a number of foreigners through dubious means – especially deals that involved agents who were out to mint millions from transfers.
There were several files that had been forwarded to FIFA for stringent actions to be taken against the 19-times Kenya Premier League champions, but the situation now looks brighter for Gor as all files – it is rumoured – were closed in favour of Gor Mahia aka “Sirkal ”.
There have been mounting pressure on the club’s long-serving chairman Ambrose Rachier to call it a day as some fans have blamed him on the ban that was imposed on their celebrated club. Some fans have gone ahead to even nickname him ‘Mugabe’ – comparing his stay in office to that one of former Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, who once said that even in his death, his grave would still rule Zimbabwe. Rachier has been at the helm of K’ogalo since 2011.
The lifting of the ban by FIFA on K’ogalo means that the Kenyan football giants will now be free to sign players, and hope that the management doesn’t meddle in players’ salary issues. Just as recent as less than a fortnight ago, Gor’s former player Wellington Ochieng sent auctioneers who carted away the only club bus. Wellington’s cry was that he is owed a lot of money and the club’s management doesn’t want to give him a listening ear.
