K’Ogalo boss launches scathing attack on Police’s move to increase gate tickets from 200 to 1500

Gor Mahia head coach Jonathan McKinstry has lashed out at Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) side Kenya Police FC for significantly increasing ticket prices for the two sides' upcoming clash on Saturday.

The Irish international stated on his X, formerly Twitter, account that the beauty of football lies in spectators.

His reaction coming a day after most Gor Mahia fans expressed their frustration on Police FC’s decision to significantly increase the stadium entry fee ahead of the eagerly anticipated clash between the two clubs.

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Police FC announced on Thursday that the VVIP tickets would go for a record high amount of Ksh 3000 while those for VIP will be available at Ksh 2000. 

In addition, fans who are interested in getting regular tickets will have to part ways with Ksh 1500, a decision that has not gone well with McKinstry, who has described it as predatory and detestable.

“The decision by Kenya Police FC to increase ticket prices 8-fold when they host Gor Mahia FC this weekend, at a time when the cost of living is so high, is abhorrent, predatory and with complete disregard to the most important stakeholders in the game,” commented the 38-year-old. 

He added that it would have been much easier for Police FC to limit the number of fans without hurting them. 

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“If they so wish, it is very simple to limit the capacity of a game without penalizing the loyal fans who are the lifeblood of the game. To put it in context. The lowest price ticket at Arsenal is £28.50. If they increased prices to £230 there would be global outrage!

If you arrived at the gas station tomorrow & they had tripled the price of fuel overnight - something would be done about it to protect the public from such exploitation & those responsible held to account. The same should be true of the cost of attending sporting events,” McKinstry posted.

The former Uganda Cranes tactician further took the opportunity to urge the government and the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to introduce stricter regulations to safeguard football fans.

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“It is the responsibility of the Football Kenya Federation and Government of Kenya to protect the game of football, and the interests of its citizens respectively.

Whilst it may be too late for this game, rules must be put in place to prevent such unfair and predatory pricing in the future,” he recommended. 

Police CEO Chris Oguso said they took the action in a bid to control the number of fans who will turn up for the match at Police Stadium.

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