Mara Sugar Fights Back FKF’s Decision to Reject Chosen Venue for Gor Mahia Clash - ‘Homa Bay is Worse’

A standoff is looming over where Mara Sugar will host Gor Mahia in what could be the match that decides the FKF Premier League title race.

Mara Sugar, who had hoped to host Gor Mahia at their home ground Awendo Green Stadium, was forced to look for an alternative venue after K’Ogalo raised safety concerns over the venue for a match set to attract a large crowd.

Gor Mahia’s concerns were agreed to by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) which ordered the home side to secure a safe alternative and Mara Sugar decided to take the match to Wang’uru Stadium in Kirinyaga county.

However, that choice was met with a swift refusal from the federation which insisted that Mara Sugar had not registered Wang’uru as one of their alternative home venues and ordered them to host the game at the Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay.

“The League and Competitions Committee notes that your choice of venue was neither registered as your alternative venue, nor your second alternative venue,” read part of FKF’s decision that rejected the choice of Wang’uru Stadium.

“In addition, the venue is more than 200 kilometres from your primary home venue. Guided by the Regulations and the document submitted by your club, please be informed that the match shall take place at Raila Odinga Stadium, Homabay at 1400 Hrs,” added the communique, which also stated that Mara Sugar registered Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay as their first alternative home venue and Jomo Kenyatta Stadium, Mamboleo in Kisumu as their second.

But Mara Sugar are having none of this, maintaining that the federation informed them to seek an alternative venue and not a registered alternative venue and therefore, they are within their rights to select Wang’uru Stadium.

“Securing a match venue is not easy. You have to look at many factors before you select one and book early. You also have to make a down payment which we have made. A lot of resources have gone into this,” Mara Sugar CEO Ruth Omalla told Pulse Sports.

Omalla further argues that a number of top flight teams have hosted their matches at Wang’uru Stadium, even when it is not registered as one of their alternative home venues, and wonders why her club is facing resistance.

“We are not complaining,” Omalla further said when asked why her club selected to play in Kirinyaga and not somewhere near Awendo. “We managed to secure the venue and for us to play there means we can manage to cover the costs that come with it. The team we are playing against have played there [Wang’uru] before,” she said, referring to Gor Mahia’s clash against Tusker FC played at Wanguru Stadium last month.

During Gor Mahia’s match with Tusker, which K’Ogalo lost 1-0, there were complaints over the state of the pitch with coach Charles Akonnor and his assistant Bismarck Mensah slamming what they called dirty tricks from their hosts.

Omalla, however, insists her club’s assessment found that the Wang’uru Stadium pitch conditions are even better than those in Homa Bay.

“We have played in Kasarani when the pitch was worse. In fact, the pitch in Homa Bay is worse than what is at Wang’uru,” insisted the Mara Sugar boss.

Omalla has since written back to FKF, raising a number of issues, while insisting that her team will play in Kirinyaga, and it remains to be seen how the standoff will be resolved before Sunday’s high stakes match.