Gor seeks FKF intervention after stadium debacle

Gor Mahia FC are awaiting a decision by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and Sports Stadia Management Board on the venue for the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup quarter-finals leg clash against Morocco’s RS Berkane.

This follows a letter issued to Gor by SSMB declining the request to have the historic clash staged in the only approved local facility by CAF – Moi International Sports Kasarani, which they claim to have been booked by another client on the specific match day (April 7, 2019).

Deputy Secretary General Ronald Ngala says they have left the federation to handle the matter, noting the urgency and sensitivity of the matter.

“We qualified for quarters and it is common knowledge all Caf Confederation Cup group matches and beyond can only be hosted in specific stadiums approved according to the bodies’ standards. If it was the preliminaries we would have enjoyed the options of other stadiums like Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos. Unfortunately, knowing the state of other stadiums in Kenya we have only Kasarani for this match, which we could plan for before qualifying,” said Ngala.

According to the long serving K’Ogalo official, football should be given priority over other activities in Kasarani, as it is primarily a sporting arena.

“We don’t want to know who the other client is contesting for Ksarani, that’s not our business. Common sense is that if we communicate change of venue to our opponents and they decline, we would be risking giving a walk over and consequently a ban by CAF,” noted Ngala.

SSMB are already under pressure from football fans who have taken to social media expressing frustration over the move.

Ngala however says the team is not perturbed by the development, noting the playing core business cannot be affected by the outside intrigues.

Another source from Gor kitchen has told Citizen Digital FKF president  Nick Mwendwa has assured them  the match will be staged at Kasarani.

Gor will need to win with a respectable goal-margin to keep chances of advancing for the semi finals.