Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia have lifted a two months ban of hosting some of its home matches at the Moi Stadium in Kisumu.
In a letter posted in their official social media account, Gor stated that they had changed the venue and date of their fixture against Kakamega Homeboyz from Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos to Moi Stadium, Kisumu to be held on November 21.
The club’s chairman Ambrose Rachier told Nation Sport that Gor Mahia’s management resorted to lift the ban after the club held numerous successful consultations with officials from Kisumu 10 days ago.
“We held fruitful talks and aired our grievances. The team from Kisumu promised to rectify what we had complained about and we agreed to return some of our home matches to Kisumu,” said Mr Rachier.
He also hinted that the match against Homeboyz will determined if the club will fully return their home matches to Moi Stadium.
“We will see how it goes, our next match will act as a weigh scale, if we overcome our previous challenges, we will fully return the home matches to Kisumu,” said Rachier.
K’Ogalo had in September resolved to move their home matches from the stadium citing increased number of cartels and goons that frustrated the club’s stewards and preyed on unsuspecting fans to pocket gate collections during matches.
Gor is now calling on its Nyanza fan base to support the club by turning up for the match in large numbers and genuinely getting access to the stadium.
“Our home ground is Kisumu and we want to give our fans the chance to watch our matches. We also want order and revenue which is key for the club so fans should be able to pay to watch the matches,” concluded Rachier.
The news of K’Ogalo’s return to Kisumu has been met with excitement by fans, with most saying they had missed thrilling plays at the stadium.
“It is good that K’Ogalo has returned its matches to Kisumu. It is exciting to watch the matches live than on a screen. Kisumu had missed good and exciting football at the stadium and they are now giving us a reason to put on hold our other businesses,” said Owen Owili, a Gor supporter in Kisumu.
