Successful and ruthless: Gor Mahia have fired 16 coaches in the last 10 years

Gor Mahia has dominated the local football league for a long time But they share a rare fry of glory too - they are a team with a jawdropping number of coaches in the last decade.

The record Kenyan league champions have hired and fired 16 coaches since 2010. Alongside their perennial rivals AFC Leopards (formerly Abaluhya United, also fondly called 'Ingwe' in Swahili), the two are the most successful and oldest football clubs in Kenya together with Tusker, who have made impressive strides in the recent past.

AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia were formed to provide opportunities for socialisation as well as forging of ethnic identities of the Abaluhya and Luo ethnic groups, respectively, in Nairobi City. They have no doubt changed Kenya's political terrain, thanks to their huge following. Fans battle for a communal pride and identity.

Their existaence created the famous Mashemeji Derby. It is deeply rooted in the ethnic differences of the two communities, which were core to their formation and fan base. In fact, no current football club can match the fan base that these two clubs command.

As it stands, Gor Mahia are the most successful club in Kenya with a total of 19 Premier League titles. Leopards third with 12 titles.

Four decades ago, Gor and Leopards exchanged titles between them for 15 years - between 1979 and 1993. During this time, K'Ogalo won eight titles (1979, 1983, 1984, 1985,1987, 1990, 1991, 1993), while Leopards took home seven titles (1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992). In recent years, Gor has continued to show their might, winning seven titles in the 21st century.

Gor Mahia have also dominated the last decade while hiring and firing coaches, seemingly aimlessly. Ironically, since 2010, Gor has won seven KPL titles.

The champions last month fired the 15th coach in a span of 12 years after parting ways with German tactician Andreas Spier.

James Obonyo, a die-hard Gor Mahia fan from Chiga in Kisumu County, said he had no problem with Gor hiring foreign coaches but the management has to give these coaches time to build the team and do away with the short-term contracts.

"There is a big problem with Gor Mahia's management. You cannot appoint and fire coaches at the beginning, middle and end of the season and expect to get positive results."

"The management is confusing players every time because each coach comes with his own tactical philosophy, which disrupts team chemistry every now and then. This needs to stop if we are to get back on top because now Tusker are ahead of Gor by far," said Obonyo.

However, for Silas Okello, Gor would perform better if they reverted to local talent.

"I am a true believer of developing our own local talent. We have good coaches here in Kenya who can perform well. Why not give them a chance? Why must we always spend millions of shillings on foreigners who in the end leave after few months?" posed Okello, a Sales Officer in Kisumu.

Since 2010, Gor Mahia have hired four local coaches and 11 foreign tacticians.

Despite Robert Matano, a local coach, being a living proof that Kenyan coaches can perform better, Gor Mahia's recent glories have been hugely reliant on foreign coaches.

Bobby Williamson ended Gor's 18-year title drought when he won the 2013 title despite the work largely falling on Croatian Zdravko Logarusic who departed before the season ended.

After Williamson, Frank Nutall took over the reins and is perhaps Gor Mahia's best ever coach after stirring the club to winning the 2015 championship unbeaten immediately after winning the 2014 title.

Another coach is Dylan Kerr who led K'Ogalo to the 2017 and 2018 league title.

Kerr was known for being very friendly with the public and was often seen mingling with fans at the city centre and eating at kiosks.

Many eyes will be on Gor Mahia ahead of the 2022-2023 season, which is still in doubt with the grappling management issues facing the Football Kenya Federation.

Commonly known as K'Ogalo (Dholuo for '"House of Ogalo"'), Gor Mahia is a football club based in Nairobi.

Gor Mahia Football Club was formally established in 1968 after the merging of Luo Union and Luo Sports Club.

The club was named after a legendary medicineman from Kanyamwa, Ndhiwa, Homa Bay County, in Luo mythology, whose nickname was Gor Mahia ("mahia" is Luo for "magic") because he was famous for performing magic.

The club's most famous nickname, K'Ogalo, also stems from the medicineman, whose full name was Gor Wuod Ogada nyakwar Ogalo (Gor son of Ogada grandson of Ogalo), and as such was known as Gor Makogalo, or Gor K'Ogalo in short, which means "Gor of Ogalo's homestead"

However, the club was founded much earlier, in 1915, and participated intermittently in local tournaments in Western Kenya. Various groups used this name at different times.

They are the only team from Kenya to win an African continental title to date, having clinched the African Winners' Cup in 1987 after previously reaching the final in 1979.