Thanks Agro Chemical, half a loaf is better than none

What you need to know:

  • At Gor Mahia it was not the mother of all sponsorships but at the financial position we are at we cannot afford to be choosy
  • At the same function chairman Ambrose Rachier appealed to fans, government and corporate organisations to come to the aid of local football which is in dire straits
  • After all, any serious Gor supporter wants a strong AFC to give us some competition

Two interesting things happened this past week — Gor Mahia got a sponsorship albeit a small one and I managed to talk about the gloomy affairs at our noisy neighbours’ Den with one of its most successful chairmen Alfred Wekesa Sambu who intimated to me that he was aware of the troubles at Ingwe and that he might think of doing something.

At Gor Mahia it was not the mother of all sponsorships but at the financial position we are at we cannot afford to be choosy.

For a start, the Muhoroni-based Agro Chemical Food Company injected some Sh2 million into the club for their trip to DR Congo for the return match against DC Motema Pembe.

“We assure Gor Mahia that we will not let them down. We are very excited about this initiative and we will increase our capacity since it is for the benefit of all of us,” the firm’s CEO Ashok Agrawal was quoted saying at the signing ceremony.

At the same function chairman Ambrose Rachier appealed to fans, government and corporate organisations to come to the aid of local football which is in dire straits.

The five-year deal will see Gor Mahia pocket Sh5 for every bottle of the company’s Patriot Vodka. I am well aware that we have been used to big monies before from the likes of Tuzo and SportPesa and I have seen some fans talk derisively of the deal.

I choose a different path. A drowning man will clutch at straws and that is what we are doing. It is not a good idea to criticise without bringing an alternative. Okay, let’s say that Gor refused the Agro deal, what would have happened next?

I am aware that some would paint me as a Rachier man and that is why I am saying this.

Granted there are some who are not happy with the lawyer’s tenure at Gor but the fact is he is the chairman we have at the moment and if you feel the money from Agro is too little then do the honourable thing and get us a firm with more money. I assure you this column will be the first to beat the celebration drums for your effort.

Back to Sambu and I happened to bump into the gentleman earlier in the week. Known to his adoring supporters as Abiola after Nigerian tycoon and later presidential candidate Chief Moshood K. Abiola, Sambu’s reign in the 1980s saw AFC Leopards become one of the big spenders in local football.

There was no player out of reach of Sambu’s seemingly deep pockets and I am told his orders to the technical bench were simple — just show me the player you want and I will get him. Of course as a diehard Gor supporter I joined my fellow Green Army members in watching the goings-on with a lot of envy.

When I raised the subject of Ingwe’s bad state with Sambu I actually pleaded with him to consider doing something. He promised that he would do so which was good news to me. After all, any serious Gor supporter wants a strong AFC to give us some competition.