With the two-window FIFA transfer ban lifted, Gor Mahia are now able to register new players for the first time since 2021 as the February-March FKFPL transfer window approaches the end.”Obviously, everyone is very sort of relieved,” head coach Johnathan McKinstry told Sports Eye Kenya on Saturday after a friendly with KCB FC, which ended in a 1-1 draw.A number of new recruits have been training with K’Ogalo for up to five months now as they banked on the management to put their house in order and sort out the mess with FIFA so that they could be registered to play.🟢 | ANNOUNCEMENT We are pleased to inform all fans that FIFA has lifted the two-window transfer ban that was imposed on us.We are now free to sign and register new players. #Sirkal | #GorFansClub pic.twitter.com/noQaFPv6au— GOR MAHIA FANS CLUB (@OfficialGMFC) March 24, 2023 They include Ugandan duo of striker Patrick Kaddu and midfielder Shafiq Kagimu, Rwandan defender Emery Bayisenge, former Kakamega Homeboyz FC stopper Sylvester Owino and midfielder Enock Wanyama, formerly of Kariobangi Sharks.McKinstry expects that, having trained and played friendlies with the rest of the squad, the new recruits will seamlessly slot into the team, but he cautions that nobody will be handed a chance on a silver platter.”Those guys have to work to get their place in the team,” said the former Uganda Cranes and Sierra Leone manager.##NAJAVA_MECA_7126058##The transfer embargo notwithstanding, the record Kenyan champions have punched above their weight with a lean squad of just 18 in-field players drawn majorly from the youth team, and are currently placed top of the FKFPL table standings. The new signings, McKinstry offers, will only add depth to the team.”The guys that have been playing in the first 20 games of the season have ultimately done well to have us in the number one position in the league and so I think it would be unfair on them to do wholesome changes.How childhood dream made Sylvester Owino wait on K’Ogalo for five months despite transfer ban”What it means now we don’t have to worry much about injuries and suspensions,” he noted.K’Ogalo have within their ranks arguably one of the best Strength and Conditioning coaches around, Michael Igendia, who has worked to keep the lean squad fit and largely injury free.McKinstry backs Omala for big future following Harambee Stars snubIgendia was recently hired on a temporary basis by the Tanzania Football Federation, TFF to handle the Taifa Stars over Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON qualifiers double header against Uganda, which they have so far won the first leg 1-0.Gor returns to league action on Wednesday as they host strugglers Vihiga Bullets at Kasarani Stadium in a match they won the first leg 3-0 last year.
