Record champions Gor Mahia get green light for CAF Champions League return

K’Ogalo, who retained the FKF Premier League title at the end of the 2023/24 season after amassing 73 points, eight more than second-placed Tusker, will be Kenya’s flag bearers in the lucrative competition set to kick off in August.

Last season, Gor Mahia won the title but could not participate in the tournament after they were barred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for their failure to meet part of the club licensing requirements. CAF kicked out Gor Mahia from the draw after they had failed to beat the deadline set by the African body to pay three of their former players dues owed to them.

The trio - Sando Yangayay, Jules Ulimwengu, and Adama Keita - had reported the club to FIFA over dues owed to them, amounting to Ksh 5 million. However, the club failed to meet the deadline and consequently, were denied a club licence by the local Federation, under FIFA and CAF rules.

Gor Mahia granted CAF licence

However, after winning a record 21st league title, FKF through a signed statement, have confirmed the return of K’Ogalo to the big stage. The statement from FKF obtained by Flashscore further confirmed Tusker, KCB, and Kenya Police among the teams to have been granted licenses.

While Gor Mahia will go for the Champions League, KCB and Kenya Police are eying the Confederation Cup slot. The two sides will face off on Saturday, June 28th, at Ulinzi Complex in the final of the domestic Mozzart Bet FKF Cup, with the winner automatically earning the ticket for the Confederation Cup.

“The Football Kenya Federation’s First Instance Body (FIB) - an independent decision-making body set up by all CAF’s member associations - has granted licenses to Tusker, Gor Mahia, KCB, and Kenya Police football clubs ahead of the 2024/25 CAF Inter Club Competitions,” read part of the statement from FKF.

“The four clubs successfully met the CAF Club Licensing requirements for the upcoming 2024/2025 CAF Men’s Interclub Competitions.

“Gor Mahia is set to represent Kenya in the CAF Champions League while KCB and Kenya Police will contest the Mozzart Bet Cup final to determine Kenya’s representative in the CAF Confederation Cup. Tusker, meanwhile, had a realistic chance for qualification by the time of submission of documents.”

The FKF statement continued: “All clubs that qualify for the CAF Inter-Club competitions based on sporting merit must be granted a license before they can participate.

“As a result, the four clubs - Gor Mahia, Tusker, KCB, and Kenya Police - were required to apply for their licenses through the CAF Club Licensing Online Platform (CLOP) by the June 13, 2024, deadline. The clubs were evaluated on five criteria pillars: Sporting, Infrastructure, Personnel and Administration, Legal and Financial, and handed licenses upon scrutiny of the documents submitted by the FIB.”

What are the club licensing rules?

According to a statement on the official FIFA website, club licensing is a key element in promoting the professionalisation of football all over the world. The system uses principles-based criteria and sets minimum standards that clubs must satisfy to be licensed and, consequently, be able to participate in each competition.

The FIFA Professional Football Department provides support and assistance to confederations and member associations to establish and improve the respective systems in place around the world. To do so, and in addition to current initiatives provided to a range of confederations and member associations, the department runs club licensing seminars.

The objectives of the club licensing process are promoting and improving the quality and the level of all football aspects in Kenya by ensuring that clubs have the appropriate infrastructure, knowledge, and application with respect to management and organization.

Adapting and improving the club’s sporting infrastructure; improving the economic and financial capacity of the clubs, through proper corporate governance and control, ensuring and guaranteeing the sustainability of local and international competitions of clubs during the season.

The other key aspect is allowing the parallel development and comparison amongst clubs by ensuring the necessary compliance in terms of financial, sporting, legal, administrative, and infrastructure criteria.

High time for Gor Mahia to make impact

Gor Mahia have been regular participants in the Champions League, but their best success in the continental scene came in 1987 when they became the only team from Kenya and the East African region to win an African continental title to date, the African Cup Winners' Cup (Nelson Mandela Cup) after previously reaching the final in 1979.

They have made 13 appearances in the Champions League and five in the Confederation Cup. In the 2018/19 season, they had a good campaign in the Confederation Cup reaching the quarter-finals. Having been drawn in Group D, Gor Mahia finished second behind Zamalek of Egypt after amassing nine points, same as the Egyptian giants to advance from the group stage.

They qualified for the quarter-finals where they were paired against RS Berkane of Morocco. K’Ogalo lost the first leg on home soil 2-0 before being hammered 5-1 in the return leg to exit the competition on a 7-1 aggregate scoreline.

Their last attempt in the 2021/22 season fell at the return leg against Napsa Stars when a last-second penalty awarded to the Zambian outfit saw the team bow out.

On learning of the clearance from FKF, former Gor Mahia official Sally Bolo challenged the club’s top management to beef up the squad in all departments if the champions harbour any hopes of performing well in next season’s Champions League.

“This is promising progress, and we hope to avoid the situation that previously denied Gor Mahia the opportunity to participate in the Champions League,” Bolo told Flashscore.

“Now, we should strengthen the team with quality and experienced players, strengthening will be required in all the departments if we’re to do something meaningful in the CAF Club Competition.”

Bolo gave the example of Young Africans (Yanga SC), who won the Tanzanian Premier League for the third straight season and will represent the country in the competition, saying they had already started working on their squad, a clear indicator they mean business next season.

“Stephane Aziz Ki has just signed a two-year contract with Yanga, securing his spot as the most expensive player in the Tanzania Premier League. Yanga’s commitment to keeping their star player shows they are not just aiming to participate in the Champions League but to dominate it,” explained Bolo.

“East African teams, don’t you think that it’s high time to take note? It’s time to follow Yanga’s lead and invest in top-tier talent, not settle for players past their prime. In short, go for quality, not just quantity.”

Last season, Yanga reached the quarter-finals where they lost to South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns, who won 3-2 on penalties following a 0-0 aggregate scoreline.

Gor Mahia are currently in the market for a new head coach following the exit of Johnathan McKinstry, who signed a two-year contract to take charge at the Gambia national team. Over 50 coaches applied for the job but the club has shortlisted 10, with one set to be announced in the coming weeks.