Gor Mahia bagged their 21st Kenyan Premier League title last Sunday, shortly after their final game of the 2023-2024 season against Bidco United.There was a colorful coronation ceremony at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos, in honour of the champions, although questions have been asked about the quality of the trophy the league organizer provided.With the title in the bag, Gor shifts their attention to the CECAFA Kagame Cup and the Coal City International Cup in Enugu, Nigeria, starting August 1.Most importantly, the Kenyan giants have the bigger task of preparing for their return to the CAF Champions League.##NAJAVA_MECA_8173426##Last year, it was proven that winning the league title is not enough to secure the Champions League ticket, as Gor were locked out of the lucrative competition for failing to meet all the licensing requirements.To avoid a repeat of the embarrassing occurrence, Gor started the process of being fully compliant way before winning the league title.“We learnt our lesson the hard way and it is for this reason, we started the process of preparing for the Champions League in time. We are not leaving anything to chance this time round,” said the club’s vice chairman, Francis Wasuna.Part of being compliant entails submitting the credentials of the head coach for verification and clearance, and Gor are yet to do that given the fact that they have yet to name Johnathan McKinstry’s successor.How defense won Gor Mahia record 21st FKFPL titleWasuna says the new head coach will be unveiled before the week ends.“We settled on the best candidate out of the tens who applied for the job. We will do the formal announcement before the end of the week,” he revealed.McKinstry is expected to leave Gor at the end of the month when his contract with the club expires.The Northern Irishman, who has already accepted the coaching job with The Gambia national team, will certainly leave a happy man having won back-to-back league titles despite the criticism he faced.Gor sealed the title with three matches to spare and had the best defensive record in the competition.They finished eight points clear of the second-placed Tusker and 16 of the third-ranked Kenya Police.The law enforcers have a chance to make amends for the missed opportunity to win the league when they face KCB this weekend in the Mozzart Bet Cup final.Gor’s bitter rivals, AFC Leopards, shook off a nightmarish start to finish fifth, while Bandari, one of the best-funded teams in the league, placed fourth.Nzoia, Muhoroni RelegatedWhile Gor faithful broke in song and dance in Machakos, there were bitter tears in Muhoroni after the club joined Nzoia in exiting the top tier.The two clubs were axed after finishing in the bottom two places and will consequently prepare for life in the National Super League.Their slots will be taken up by Mathare United and Mara Sugar, who have already been promoted.It was a season to forget for Nzoia, considering that the club finished fourth in the 2022–2023 season. Ultimately, the club paid heavily for letting key players leave.I am proud of the choice I made in mid-season window, says Gor Mahia wingerSofapaka, who finished third from bottom, will face the third-best team in the Super League in the playoff. The winner on aggregate will grace the top flight next season.The former champions will either face Naivas or Nairobi United.Besides the league race and the relegation battle, a lot happened in the concluded campaign.Return of live matchesThe concluded season witnessed the return of matches on our screens courtesy of the commercial partnerships between the league and the duo of Azam and KBC.Tens of matches were broadcast live courtesy of the two partnerships, with clubs pocketing returns contrary to the preceding two seasons.However, concerns have been raised over the accessibility of matches beamed on the Azam digital platform.Secrets behind Mara Sugar’s succesful campaign in the NSLEfforts to market the league and bring fans to the stadium should be doubledTo say the league was marketed poorly is an understatement.Apart from releasing fixtures, fliers, and digital presence, there have been no concrete marketing strategies by the organizers and the two commercial partners.Efforts to bring to the attention of the public the existence of the league need to be doubled heading to the new season.Save from AFC Leopards, Gor Mahia and Shabana, the rest of the teams ought to pull up their socks in appealing to their fans to attend matches.The league body, if it exists, needs to join hands with clubs and bring fans to the stadia.The Mashemeji Derby and national team assignments have proven that indeed the Kenyan public values local football.Need for more standard pitchesThe closure of Nyayo and Kasarani stadia exposed clubs for failing to have their facilities and left an egg on the face of the government for constructing sub-standard ones.If the government had completed the facilities at Kirigiti, Kinoru, Wang’uru, Embu, Kericho among others while putting the demands from CAF and FIFA in place, top-flight football wouldn’t have played in open pitches like Kasarani Annex and Utalii Grounds.When the heavens opened, the league nearly took a break, exposing the poor drainage systems in our facilities.Dandora Stadium to host Mozzart Bet Cup finalsWhile pressure is on the government to complete the renovation works at Nyayo and Kasarani piles, it is time for clubs to have their own facilities.What stops some of the deep-pocketed cubs from having a facility like the one the county government did in Dandora?Suspension of suspected match fixers not good enoughThe FKF’s Integrity department suspended a number of players and referees suspected of being involved in match-fixing.Although the outcome of the investigations launched against the suspects this season and the past ones are yet to be made public, the need to criminalize the vice can’t be ignored anymore.BREAKING: FKF suspends five over match-fixingSuspending individuals and teams has proven not to be enough to weed out the practice, which greatly undermines the quality of the league.This calls for government intervention and criminalization of the vice, as naming and shaming is simply not enough.Efforts to market the league and bring fans to the stadium should be doubled.
