FOOTBALL
Gor
Mahia has to dominate commercially in order to challenge continentally
By
Collins Ogola
Gor Mahia is waiting for its coronation on Saturday
after winning this season’s Sportpesa Premier League at a canter. K’Ogalo as
the club is popularly known has dominated the league winning the trophy three
times in a row. Amid this celebratory mood, let us not forget the precarious
state that the club is operating in.
There is no denying that Gor Mahia has been a cut
above its competitors in football terms locally. The club has shown an itch to
return to the echelons of football it had occupied in the late 1980’s
culminating in winning Mandela Cup in 1987, but for this to happen it has to
tap into the commercial potential it carries.
Gor Mahia should be mentioned in the same breath as
great football clubs in Africa such Al Ahly, Zamalek, TP Mazembe, Esperance
among others who have dominated the continental club football scene and also
boast massive following. These clubs are stable commercially and this is what
Gor lacks.
Having been without a sponsor since the contract with
TUZO elapsed has not helped the club in its continental operations. Signing
players late cost the club progressing farther in CAF Champions League. The
executive has to tap into the massive following the club enjoys while working
on the image the club has that has been scaring away potential sponsors.
What happened to the drive to register fans? Does
the club know that Bayern Munich is owned to a percentage by its fans and this
stability has made the club successful? What happened to the medical insurance
contract signed last year?
K’Ogalo has been surviving on goodwill from the
fans, passion among the players and loyalty of the technical bench. This state
is precarious and if left to fester it will turn Kenya’s most successful club
into a mediocre team that cannot challenge locally let alone in the continent.
Gor Mahia has a name and a following that any
company will salivate at. The club has had a successful season so far in all
sectors. There has not been any incident of hooliganism to reported, players
staging go slows or walk outs have also been heard in whispers. The executive
need to build on this newfound clean reputation to woe companies to come on
board for the coming season and beyond, dangling the carrot of selling them
continentally next season and also offering a massive market for their products
through its massive fan base.
The club has to look at models of commercially
successful clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United who have made
billions of revenue from their commercial potentials. These clubs have branded
their training kits, match day jerseys, watches and all the ‘brandable’ aspects
of the club taking advantage of their standing in the game.
Gor can also follow suit by having a sponsor for its
training kits, match day jerseys and carry their sponsors name on its jersey.
Manchester United has DHL a carrier company branding its training kits, Adidas
as their shirt/jersey manufacturer and Chevrolet as the shirt sponsor.
Lawyer Ambrose Rachier has done well at the helm of
the club but K’Ogalo with its current squad can challenge in the continent and
that should be the vision envisaged by the executive. For this to be a reality,
the clubs needs stability in all aspects of its operations by exhausting all
the commercial avenues the club possesses.
END
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