21-time Kenya Premier League (KPL) champions Gor Mahia Football Club is set to finally get their own stadium after nearly 60 years.
Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Performance and Delivery Management in the Office of the President, Eliud Owalo, who is also the newly sworn-in deputy patron of the club, assured K’Ogalo that their long-awaited wait for a stadium is set to be achieved under his tenure.
While outlining an eight-point manifesto, Owalo highlighted a new stadium as key amongst his priorities. Since being founded in 1968, the club has always sought their own stadium where they could host all their local and continental games.
Owalo, who took over from former Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti as the deputy patron, also outlined building houses for the playing unit, medical cover for players and development of a player signing policy, amongst other goals he was seeking to achieve.
Additionally, a human resource policy, a fully functional secretariat, mobilization of adequate resources for the club and lifting of Gor Mahia to a world class standard were also key to his ambitions.
The desire for a stadium has been a long standing one, with calls for a stadium starting as early as the 1990s and 2000s, but have repeatedly stalled due to lack of funds, land disputes, or changes in leadership.
Former President Daniel Moi reportedly allocated a piece of land adjacent to Moi International Stadium, Kasarani, to Gor Mahia and their bitter rivals, AFC Leopards, for stadium construction.
However, neither club was able to develop the land or turn it to their home ground. The cause of this was attributed to an inability to secure the ownership documents for the said land.
These prolonged delays in acquiring the land’s title deed forced the club to abandon the project. Club chairman, Ambrose Rachier, recently announced that the club will abandon the land and steer clear of any government land.
Rachier indicated that they would secure land and build their facility with the help of the fans and other benefactors. The advocate, who was speaking after his reelection as the club’s chair, also emphasised the need to grow match attendance, increase club membership, and improve the club’s financial structure to reduce reliance on sponsors.
Even so, in recent years, there have been rumours of a Chinese investor or firm being interested in supporting the construction of a Gor Mahia stadium. However, this has not materialised publicly.
For their matches, Gor have used the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Nyayo National Stadium and City Stadium for their local and international matches. Occasionally, the club has been at regional grounds like Kisumu Stadium when on tour.
In the Kenyan Premier League (KPL), only Ulinzi Stars (Ulinzi Sports Complex, Lang’ata, Nairobi) and Tusker FC (Ruaraka Grounds) are teams with their own stadiums.
