Gor Mahia Football Club

Gor Mahia Football Club is one the most successful and popular football clubs in East Africa. Its rich history and highly passionate fans are deeply rooted and have been an ever-present theme in Kenyan football. This amazing club is based in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi and has passed over numerous hurdles since its formation on February 17th 1968 to become not only the most successful club in East Africa in terms of league titles but also the only club that has a commanding fan-base similar to those seen in football powerhouses such as Boca Juniors, Manchester United and Redstar Belgrade, among others. This article, therefore, takes an in-depth look at the driving force behind Gor Mahia Football Club and its deeply rooted culture and originality.

Gor Mahia Football Club came to existence as a result of the amalgamation of two football clubs that had their roots in the Western part of Kenya. These two clubs were Luo Stars Football Club and Luo Union Football The club, which came to existence in the mid-1950s when Kenya was still a British colony. The amalgamation of these two teams, which led to the formation of Gor Mahia, was as a result of the new government's directive that each province in Kenya should only be represented in the national league by one club. It was after several meetings and consultations that the two clubs merged to form Gor Mahia, which is now one of the powerhouses of Kenyan football.

Just after its formation, Gor Mahia organized its first match against a club from neighbouring country Uganda. This match commanded an extremely large crowd that it was decided that the club should embark on a major promotional tour to help raise money for its matches at both the national and international matches. The club's first international match was in an Africa Cup competition where they played Burri Football Club from Khartoum Sudan. Despite winning the first leg 4-2 in Sudan, the club lost its second leg in Nairobi; thus were bundled out of the competition in the early stages. In fact, this was the beginning of a peculiar tradition in the club's history in which they have the norm of playing better in away matches compared to their home matches.

It was during the 1970s that Gor Mahia, or rather K'Ogalo as it is famously referred to by its loyal and enchanting fans won its first national championship. This came at the backdrop of an unbeaten run and the prowess of its player-coach, Allan Thigo. Nevertheless, this amazing club reached its first final in the famous African Cup Winners' Cup where they were overwhelmingly beaten by Canon Yaoundé from Cameroon. This was to be later overturned almost a decade later in 1987 when Gor Mahia become the first and only Kenyan club to lift the African Cup Winners' Cup, which by this time was popularly known as the Mandela Cup. It was also during the 1980s that Gor Mahia won its most national championships at the expense of its arch-rival AFC Leopards.

Even though Gor Mahia did not witness much success in the mid 1990s due to financial difficulties, the club managed to win another national championship in 1998 that was followed with back to back titles in 2013 and 2014. This fate not only elevated the club's status among its fans but also cemented the clubs status as the most successful club in Kenyan football with a total of 14 league titles.