AFC Leopards famously known as Ingwe was established in 1964, making it the oldest club in Kenya’s football history. Its inaugural name was the Abaluhya Football Club (AFC) since it had originated from the Luhya community.
However, in 1979 Moi banned tribal clubs and the club was among the teams that were hit by the ban and had to rebrand their club name and switched to All Fans United Football Club and later added Leopards to its original name.
Being in existence for 58 years the club is ranked as the second best and biggest club in Kenya which has natured many talented and at the same time produced football legends in the country.
AFC Leopards Owners
The club has been under communal ownership where the community is the actual owner of the club. In this case, most of the community members hail from the Western region since the founders of the club also originated from that part of the country.
In 2018, the club was facing a tough season and their performance was bleeding match after match. In search of whose head to be chopped off to save the dying club, Chairman Dan Mule pointed his finger at the owners of the club.
According to him, the communal ownership was killing the club slowly and something needed to be done. However, despite his claims the ownership of the club has not Changed.
Fans
When it comes to football or any other game, fans play a vital role in the success of the team. The case is not different for Ingwe as their fanbase is on another level.
Being a Luhya affair most of their fans are from the Luhya community. The fans are not only royal but they are also entertainers and they are well known for their Isukuti dance, a traditional dance among the Luhya community.
The dance is mostly followed by a melodious traditional song that not only leaves other people jaw-dropped but it even attracts the rival’s fans.
AFC Leopards Leadership and Coach
Currently, the club is being chaired by Dan Shikanda, other officials include,
- Olyver Sikuku- Secretary
- Maurice Chichi- Treasurer
- Enos Mutokah- Commercial Director
Currently, the club’s field and players’ affairs are handled by Patrick Aussems, a former Belgium footballer and a manager. For the past five years, AFC has registered the highest number of coach turn out.
AFC Leopards Achievements and Trophies.
Since its Inaugural in 1964, the club has secured 13 league titles securing its first league title in 1966. Most of the titles were collected in the 1980s and 1990s.
In the 1980s, the leadership was believed to have been more engaging with players a move that helped the club secure 7 titles from 1980 to 1998.
Since then the team has never visited the victory stage and they are still riding on their forefather’s achievements. Despite winning their last league in 1998 still, they are the second in KPL with the most wins.
In addition, they have nine Cup FKF President’s Cups as well as five CECAFA Club Cups.
The Rise of Mashemeji Derby and Rivarly With Gor Mahia.
Mashemeji Derby is one of the highly rated games in Kenya’s football, where two rival teams, AFC and Gor Mahia battle it out on the field. The two clubs have been rivals from way back and their rivalry brought the Mashemeji derby which was first played on May 5th, 1968.
The two club’s fans have crashed on several occasions where police had to interfere to cool the temper between them. Sometimes back it was believed attending the derby was a thousand ways to going home with an Injury.
AFC Leopard s Home Ground
The club is located in Nairobi and occupies the second largest stadium in Kenya with an audience capacity of 45,000. The ingwe are well known for their blue and white uniform which serves as their trademark jersey.
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