The television flickered inside the training camp in Homa Bay. A dozen grown men in track and shorts and others with bare chests slumped into wooden leather chairs, water bottles forgotten at their feet.
They were supposed to be preparing for their own match, but a venue wrangle had put everything on hold. So instead, they watched as fate unfolded on a screen.
When that final whistle blew in Kericho Green stadium, AFC Leopards had lost 2-1 to APS Bomet. And just like that, without a single player breaking a sweat, Gor Mahia were champions again.
A record-extending 22nd time in the SportPesa League.
For Ingwe, it was another chapter of heartbreak. Twenty seven years of waiting, of hoping.
Their advantage slipped through their fingers on a Sunday afternoon in late May. They could not hold on.
They could not take the title race to the final day like they wanted. Gor were sitting pretty on 68 points with two games still to play. Their rivals had 64 with just a game to play. In the world of football, that gap might as well have been a canyon.
But here is the thing that makes this story different.
Unlike AFC Leopards who are nearly three decades into the wilderness, unlike Arsenal across the pond with their own 22 year trophy drought until recent relief, Gor Mahia needed just one season to get back on top.
ALSO READ: Gor Mahia win 22nd SportPesa League title after AFC Leopards lose
And they did not stumble into it. They worked for it. They bled for it. They deserved every bit of that crown.
The funny part is they never expected the party to start so early. The title race had been a dogfight all season.
Gor were actually supposed to face Mara Sugar that weekend, only for some messy venue wrangles to land at the Sports Dispute Tribunal. The tribunal hit pause on the whole encounter.
So the team packed their bags and travelled to Homa Bay anyway to honour an away fixture that was meant to be played at the Raila Odinga Stadium.
And on that Sunday afternoon, instead of lacing up their boots, they gathered around the camp television like nervous fans in a local video den.
They watched to see if their rivals would push them to the final day. But fate had other plans as the results swung their way.
And the jubilation that followed spilled from that small room all the way to Nairobi, where their fans had already gathered at the Tom Mboya statue to celebrate a record that no one in Kenyan football has ever touched.
So how did this happen? How did they claw it back in just 12 months?
From champions to chaos in just one season
You have to understand where they came from. The 2024/25 season will not go down as their worst ever. That painful honour probably belongs to 2020/21.
But this one will linger in the memory for a different reason. This was the season they bottled two major cups right at the finish line.
Just a year earlier, they were winning back to back trophies under Jonathan McKinstry. Then they handed the league title to Kenya Police FC. Then they lost the FKF Cup final to Nairobi United.
A whole season came and went without a single piece of silverware. That drought hurt. And when a club like Gor Mahia hurts, heads roll.
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McKinstry left to coach The Gambia’s national team. In came Brazilian Leonardo Neiva. Six league matches later, he was out. Zico took over as interim in November 2024, stayed until February 2025, then made way for Sinisa Mihic.
Mihic got the sack in May 2025, just weeks after Ambrose Rachier was reelected as club chairman. Zico came back for another interim stint. Then he got the sack too.
If you are keeping count, that is a lot of coaches in a very short time.
And when Zico finally walked out, he did not go alone. Assistant coach Michael Nam, team manager Victor Nyaoro, goalkeeper trainer Boniface Oluoch, trainer John Thomas Nyakundi were also all shown the door. A complete reset.
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Then came August 1 2025. Gor Mahia announced their new head coach – Charles Akonnor. A former Black Stars boss, two year deal. He brought his own people too.
Fellow Ghanaian Kobi Mensah Bismark as his assistant. Another Ghanaian, Ben Owu, as goalkeeper coach. And from Nairobi City Stars, Brian Odongo came in as team doctor.
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Here is the twist. Akonnor almost did not take the job. He told SportPesa News it came by accident, almost by luck.
“A friend of mine who lives here in Kenya contacted me and recommended I consider the position,” he said.
“I was not entirely sure about it because I had been away from the top level for some time. Although coaching is my profession, it was not in the limelight. So I had my doubts. But ultimately, I decided to sign on and take the challenge.”
Big signings, big expectations and an early reality check
With a new coach in place, they went shopping. The African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024 tournament that Kenya co-hosted with Uganda and Tanzania had just finished, and some players had caught their eye.
They grabbed former AFC Leopards assistant captain Lewis Bandi. They fortified their defence with Mike Kibwage from Tusker FC and Siraj Mohammed from Bandari FC.
Then came the big one, sensational Felix Oluoch from Posta Rangers and Ghanaian international playmaker Ebenezer Adukwaw.
ALSO READ: Ghanaian Adukwaw nets double as Gor Mahia clinch first SportPesa League victory
To cap it off, they took CHAN goalkeeper number one Byrne Omondi from Bandari FC.
It looked good on paper. Then September 21 arrived. A dark Sunday night at the MISC Kasarani. Already relegated Bidco United beat them 1-0 from a penalty spot. The new season had started with a thud.
But Akonnor did not panic. Six days later, his side grabbed their first win at Dandora Stadium in a 2-0 victory. Adukwaw scored both goals, his first for the club and handed his boss the first win.
From there, the record champions went on a tear. Six straight wins and one draw over seven matches. Nineteen points out of a possible 21.
Then the wheels wobbled.
The Mashemeji Derby defeat that nearly changed everything
Late 2025, they dropped crucial points. Back to back losses.
First, a 4-1 battering from APS Bomet. Akonnor had made a tactical switch, resting key players for the upcoming Mashemeji Derby against AFC Leopards. But the plan backfired.
Then came the derby itself at Nyayo Stadium. Julius Masaba scored in the first half as Ingwe won 1-0. The Ghanaian coach was suddenly feeling heat from all sides.
ALSO READ: Masaba strike stuns Gor Mahia as AFC Leopards claim Mashemeji Derby bragging rights in 98th edition
But club chairman Rachier stepped in. He told the fans to calm down.
“Losing a match does not necessarily translate to sacking of the coach,” Rachier said.
“We have lost three matches and are still positioned third in the league with some games to play. So you cannot say the solution is to sack the coach. Ask him to learn and improve going forward.”
They scraped a draw with Bandari, then a narrow 1-0 win over Kakamega Homeboyz. Then another draw against Nairobi United to close out the year. The mood was tense.
January arrivals that changed the title race completely
And then they lost their best players. The 2024 MVP Austine Odhiambo left for Lebanon. Alphonce Omija moved to Tunisia. Gor Mahia needed reinforcements.
They went back to the market. Another Ghanaian international, Ebenezer Assifuah, walked through the door. South Sudan international Jackson Dwang joined. And they re-signed former defender Frank Odhiambo.
The timing could not have been better because Felix Oluoch, their top scorer with seven goals by then, went down with a knee injury in January. Sidelined indefinitely.
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The new signings hit the ground running. Assifuah came off the bench to score a winner on his debut at Kasarani, completing a comeback against Murang’a Seal.
When 2026 kicked off, Gor Mahia looked like a different beast. Thirteen straight matches without a single defeat.
Ten wins, three draws. Then their first loss came against Tusker FC at Wang’uru Stadium. Then a draw with Bandari.
ALSO READ: Gor Mahia new signing Ebenezer Assifuah elated after scoring match-winner on debut
The mashemeji derby victory that pushed K’Ogalo to the title
But the big one was coming. The second leg of the Mashemeji Derby. Only three points separated the rivals. The league title hung in the balance. Away from home, K’Ogalo prevailed. Alpha Onyango scored the only goal, 1-0 that pushed them six points clear.
The next weekend, they beat Kakamega Homeboyz 1 – 0 to make it nine points. Then a 1-1 draw with Kenya Police FC, but Ingwe won their match to cut the gap to seven. Ingwe had two games in hand and narrowed it to four.
ALSO READ: AFC Leopards vs Gor Mahia: K’Ogalo stun Ingwe to go six points clear in SportPesa League title race
Then came the penultimate fixture. Ingwe lost 2-1 to APS Bomet. That was it. The title was gone. Handed to their rivals with two games still left to play.
By the numbers, Gor Mahia spent more than 170 days at the top of the table. Twenty wins, eight draws, four losses in 32 matches played so far. All that remains now is a guard of honour and a coronation on the final day against Nairobi United.
How Gor Mahia rebuilt faster than everyone expected
The lesson in all of this? Some clubs believe in long chemistry projects. Arsenal talks about process. AFC Leopards talks about building. But Gor Mahia went straight for results. They signed players who could deliver immediately.
They changed coaches until they found the right one. They made bold moves in the transfer window. And every single gamble paid off.
Enock Morrison has been having a proper good campaign. Sharif Musa has been the best winger in the league. Paul Ochouga belongs on any shortlist of standout performers. And Alpha Onyango, their captain for most of the season, has been nothing short of sensational.
Their strategy ticked. Their strategy delivered. And from a sofa in Homa Bay, watching a television flicker with their fate, they became champions again.