The world football governing body (FIFA) has slapped Gor Mahia with yet another transfer ban after their failure to settle a debt owed to former player Adama Keita.
FIFA revealed its decision through a statement on Wednesday, January 28, highlighting that Gor Mahia had not fulfilled its commitment to settle a debt owed to Malian goalkeeper Adama Keita, as pledged earlier.
FIFA initially awarded the player, who featured for the club in 2021, Ksh4.4 million as compensation following a contractual breach in July 2022.
Earlier in the year, the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber directed Gor Mahia to settle a payment of $2,618(approximately Ksh. 380,00) in accrued interest and a contractual penalty of $15,272(Ksh. 2.2 million) within a 45-day period.
“We refer to the above-mentioned matter as well as to the decision passed by FIFA. In this context, it appears that, despite the decision, Gor Mahia (the respondent) has still not complied with its financial obligations towards Mr. Adama Keita (the claimant).
“In this regard, we wish to inform the parties that a ban from registering new players internationally has been implemented by FIFA,” the letter read in part.
Furthermore, FIFA instructed the Football Kenya Federation to impose a local transfer ban on Gor Mahia, prohibiting the club from registering new players.
“Moreover, and by the aforementioned decision, the FKF (in copy) is requested to immediately implement on the respondent the Club (Gor Mahia) if not done yet, a ban from registering new players at the national level,” read part in a statement.
Also Read: Kenya Beats Tanzania Despite Missing AFCON in Latest FIFA Ranking
Gor Mahia Issued a Transfer Ban Over Keita’s Debt
In November 2022, FIFA granted Keita $30,544 (equivalent to Ksh4.4 million) in compensation, along with five percent interest on the unpaid salary resulting from his unlawful termination.
He had been earning a monthly salary of Ksh.150,000.
To avoid sanctions, Gor Mahia entered into a payment plan with Keita, agreeing to clear the outstanding amount in two installments.
The initial payment of Ksh2.3 million was made in March 2023.
The outstanding balance of Ksh2.1 million was supposed to be settled by April 2023.
However, an agreement clause stipulated that Gor Mahia would face a 50 percent penalty in case of default on the payment.
When Gor Mahia failed to clear the remaining balance, Keita sought redress from FIFA.
In a letter dated January 9, 2024, FIFA instructed Gor Mahia to comply within 45 days by paying the Malian player, warning of potential punishment otherwise. The deadline expired on Friday 23rd February.
Consequently, FIFA imposed another transfer ban on the Kenyan champions.
Also Read: FIFA Under Pressure to Ban Israel
Previous K’Ogalo Bans
The previous ban imposed by FIFA ran from February 2021 until September 2021 when the K’Ogalo, one of Kenya’s biggest clubs failed to settle its dues with two former players and a coach.
Similarly, in October 2021, Gor Mahia found themselves on the receiving end of a second FIFA transfer ban for the year, following their inability to settle a debt of just over $30,000 (approximately Ksh. 4.4million) owed to Owusu Jackson of Ghana.
The decision was prompted by Gor Mahia’s failure to transfer the owed funds to Jackson within the specified 45-day window, as explicitly directed by FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC).
In November 2022, Gor faced a ban for signing players for two consecutive transfer windows.
