By Phillip Orwa
After a tumultuous season, that left the mighty K’Ogalo coming second in the Premier League, a new order was created.
The management returned to the drawing board by first disbanding the entire technical bench, the medical staff, and releasing the Chief Executive Officer.
It was a clean sweep to give the mighty Gor Mahia a rebirth.
And now the club has begun rebuilding the team to stake its claim not only locally, but regionally and on the continent.
That is why, a month after Gor Mahia FC disbanded its technical bench and the medical team, the club has announced the appointment of a new Coach, Assistant, Goalkeeper Trainer and Video Analyst from West Africa — Ghana.
K’Ogalo disbanded its entire technical bench, including the coaching staff and supporting personnel, on July 2nd following a trophy-less season that saw the team fail to secure a trophy for the first time since 2016.
Acting Head Coach Zedekiah Otieno “Ziko”, Assistant Michael Nam, Goalkeeper Trainer Boniface Oluoch and team doctors were shown the door after K’Ogalo failed to secure a trophy after nine years of commanding the Kenya Premier League.
They have won the Kenyan Premier League a record 21 times, and have also won the FKF President’s Cup a record 11 times. It is the first and only team from Kenya to win an African continental title to date, having won the African Cup Winners’ Cup in 1987 after previously reaching the final in 1979.
After a search for a technical bench for about a month since they sacked the bench, the side has now officially announced the appointment of Charles Akonnor as their new Head Coach on a two-year contract.
The 51-year-old Ghanaian tactician takes over from Zedekiah Otieno, who took the helm as a Caretaker Head Coach after Siniša Mihajlović left over poor performance.
Akonnor, a former Ghana Black Stars captain and head coach, earned 51 international caps and scored 13 goals during his playing career.
The former Black Stars Captain had a five-year appearance in the Bundesliga, whereby he played for VfL Wolfsburg between 1998 and 2003.
As a Coach, he managed some of Ghana’s top clubs that include Ashanti Kotoko, Ashanti Gold, Ghana National Team, Hearts of Oak, bringing a rich wealth of experience to the Kenyan side.
Akonnor said while taking over, “I have set my goals for the club and I will be working with all stakeholders to have the success needed.
We need to set up a solid team that can achieve the best and we will work together towards a common goal to achieve what we want as a club.”
The Ghanaian will be assisted by fellow countryman Kobi-Mensah Bismark, who previously worked with Bechem United, Accra Shooting Stars Academy, Great Olympics, and Karela United. He has also been handed a two-year deal.
Another Ghanaian, Owu Ben, a former Ghana U-17 and U-20 international goalkeeper, takes over as Goalkeeping Coach, alongside Joshua Kofi Boafo, a Video Analyst tasked with performance review, tactical breakdowns, and providing data-driven insights to enhance team strategy.
Brian Odongo has been appointed the Team Doctor, Brian Odongo, a certified sports medicine specialist with extensive experience working with elite athletes across multiple disciplines both locally and internationally.
