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Kenya: Gor Mahia to Hold Fundraiser Targeting Sh15 Million for CAF Matches

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4 years ago

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Gor Mahia will on Thursday hold a fundraiser with the club hoping to raise Sh15million to cover the cost of competing in the upcoming Caf Confederation Cup second round two-leg tie against As Otoho d’Oyo of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The invite-only event at Serena Hotel will be graced by the club patron with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as the chief guest among a host of politicians, club officials and fans. The fundraiser kicks off at 4:30pm

Uninvited club fans and well-wishers have been asked to send their contributions via the paybill number 350100.

Gor Mahia is set to travel to the DRC for the first leg encounter on November 28 with the return leg fixture slated for December 5. The club will most likely host the second leg at the iconic Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam due to lack of a Caf approved stadium in the country.

On Tuesday, club sporting director Lordvick Aduda told Nation Sport that the club had written to the now disbanded Football Kenya Federation (FKF) on November 4 to persuade Caf to extend temporary approval of Nyayo National Stadium so that K’Ogalo could host their Congolese opponents at the facility.

He however says they are unsure if they will get a positive feedback due to the current development in Kenyan football that saw the government disband FKF and the arrest of its embattled President Nick Mwendwa over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Caf in a letter to FKF dated October 17, 2021 stated that Nyayo National Stadium had been banned from hosting international matches but only granted it an extended use to host the World Cup qualifier between Harambee Stars and Amavubi Stars of Rwanda on Monday.

Gor Mahia have already written to the Tanzanian Football Federation (TFF) requesting to be allowed to use the 60,000-seater Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on December 5.

K’Ogalo have also written to the Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed requesting for a financial bail out through the Sports Fund as they will be representing the country in the two matches, but Aduda said they are yet to receive any feed back.

Aduda said the money realised from the fundraiser will enable the club to honour its fixtures in the DRC an in Dar es Salaam as the club currently doesn’t have money to meet these huge costs.

“We call on our fans to step in and help us achieve the our Sh15 million target. Since every fan can’t be at Serena, the money we get from our pay bill will greatly help us to achieve our target and honour the two matches,” he said.

“We don’t want to find ourselves in a bad situation which can make us to miss the matches and get a Caf ban,” he added.

He revealed that they also have to advance payment to TFF so as to book the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the event they are unable to use the Nyayo National Stadium.

“From our inquires an air ticket to DR Congo costs 89,500-90,000 per person. In addition, each member of the travelling party will require Sh5,000 for Covid-19 test and accommodation estimated at between Sh8,000-Sh13,000. There are also travelling logistics in both Tanzania and the DRC. The total cost to cater for all the issues pertaining to the two matches is Sh15 million,” he said.

Gor Mahia qualified for the second round of the second-tier continental competition on a 3-1 aggregate having gotten a walkover in the return fixture against Sudanese opponents Al Ahly Merowe, who withdrew from the competition.