Football
Exclusive: Gor Mahia Striker Benson Omalla Sets Target of 25 Goals in New Season
Gor Mahia striker Benson Omalla aims for 25 goals in the 2024/25 FKF Premier League season after winning the Golden Boot with 19 goals last season.
Image Credits: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images
Gor Mahia striker Benson Omalla has set a target of scoring 25 goals in the new 2024/25 Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League season.
The 22-year-old was in sparkling form last season, notching 19 goals to win the Golden Boot award and help K’Ogalo lift their second successive league title and a record 21st in the history of Kenyan football.
In the 2022/23 campaign, Omalla, who joined Gor Mahia from Western Stima, missed out on the Golden Boot award despite notching 26 goals. He was beaten to the gong by then Kenya Police striker Elvis Rupia, who scored a record 27.
Last season, Omalla’s achievement marked a significant moment for Gor Mahia as the club concluded the league with 73 points, a marked improvement from their 70-point finish from the previous campaign.
The race for the Golden Boot was intensely competitive up to the last moments of the season as John Mark Makwata of Kariobangi Sharks and Tito Okello of Kenya Police challenged Omalla for the award.
Image Credits:YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images
My Target is to Score 25 Goals Next Season
According to Omalla, is target for the new campaign is to score 25 goals and help Gor Mahia win a third consecutive title. “I want to score 25 goals next season, that is my target, and I will make sure I achieve it,” Omalla told SportsBoom.com.
“I have previously scored 26, the season I lost the gong to Elvis (Rupia), it was very painful because I scored what I thought was a lot of goals to win the award but I finished second, so it will not be difficult for me to achieve 25 goals next season, it is not a difficult task, I know I will achieve my target.”
If I get good opposition players to push me, why not I will score 25 goals or even more, when the competition is tough it keeps you going, it makes you to strive to do better, it increases your sharpness in front of goal because obviously if you don’t score, it becomes difficult to keep up with the pace.
Benson Omalla
Omalla further said he was hoping for an injury free season to attain his target. “I hope I will stay fit throughout the season, if I stay injury free then it is another boost for me to achieve the target.
“So, it is something I want to achieve again, score 25 or even surpass the 26 goals, I am hoping to be healthy enough to have a successful season, score more goals and help Gor Mahia retain the Premier League and perform well in CAF Champions League.”
Apart from defending their title, K’Ogalo will return to Champions League action having missed the previous one after they were barred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for their failure to meet part of the club licensing requirements.
The African body kicked out the Kenyan champions from the draw after they had failed to beat the deadline to pay three of their former players dues owed to them.
The trio - Sando Yangayay, Jules Ulimwengu, and Adama Keita - had reported the club to FIFA over dues owed to them, amounting to Ksh 5 million. However, the club failed to meet the deadline and consequently, were denied a club licence by the local Federation, under FIFA and CAF rules.
However, these season, Gor Mahia have received clearance to participate in the 2024/25 campaign. They have been drawn to face El Merriekh Bentiu of South Sudan in the first preliminary round with African champions Al Ahly awaiting in the second round if they manage to qualify.
“It is good to return to Champions League, we missed it last season and so everyone will be looking forward to play in the biggest stage again, we want to do better than previous campaigns and hopefully we get it done,” added Omalla.
I Will Move to Abroad When the Right Time comes
Omalla discussed his future at Gor Mahia insisting he was still contracted to the club and was not thinking of making a move abroad. In 2021, Omalla ventured into Europe, where he signed for Swedish Division One side FC Linkoping City.
However, the former Western Stima player, who had initially signed a six-month loan deal to join the side, returned home after only two months with player citing frustration and being played out of position.
Asked on whether he was thinking of moving to Europe again, Omalla said:
I have a binding contract with Gor Mahia and that is what I am working hard to fulfil but again, there is no problem who cannot want to play in Europe.”
Benson Omalla
“If anything, tangible comes on the table and my club agrees with whoever is keen for my services, then why not? I will move, but for now it is all about Gor Mahia, I want to achieve a lot of success with this great club, I want to win as many titles as possible with Gor Mahia.”
“I want to go as far as I can with Gor Mahia in the Champions League, we don’t want to exit in the early stages but want to try and go as far as we can.”
New Coach Leo Neiva
Additionally, when asked about new Brazilian coach Leonardo Martins Neiva, Omalla said: “He is a good man, he is trying to tell us what to do and we are very happy to have him around, we want to make sure he feels at home and help us to get better.”
Martins Neiva was appointed to replace Jonathan McKinstry, who had quit to take up the vacant role at the Gambia national team on a two-year deal.
Dennis is a seasoned journalist in Kenya with over 18 years of experience. Having started his career at Kenya Times Newspaper, Dennis worked for Standard Newspaper for nearly six years as a Sports Writer. At Standard, he was privileged to cover Kenya's national team Harambee Stars outside the country, the biggest of all being the Four Nations tournament in Cairo, Egypt. He also covered the U17 team in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.