FOOTBALL Ingwe at 60: Why there is little to celebrate for AFC Leopards after six decades of existence

AFC Leopards have begun their 60th anniversary celebrations but there are a number of reasons why they should be worried than proud of their six decades of existence.

AFC Leopards begun their 12-day 60th anniversary celebrations on Tuesday as the club marks some of the milestones they have achieved in the last six decades.

Ingwe are one of the oldest clubs in the country and also one of the most followed not just in the Kenya but on the continent and given their support base and years of existence, they should be doing much better.

However, the opposite is what has been happening and as chairman Dan Shikanda and his team continue reflecting on what might have been and what needs to happen, the truth is that the club has been a big disappointment.

That therefore means there is little to celebrate for Ingwe stakeholders for a number of reasons.

No league title in 26 years

The most disappointing thing among Leopards supporters is that their last league title arrived in 1998.

That is a long time to wait even for the most patient supporter and some among their fans are yet to witness them lift a title.

Over the years that have followed, Ingwe have flattered to deceive and rarely have they mounted a sustained title challenge.

Leopards entered the millennium as the most successful team but 24 years later, they are third on that list, having been overtaken by bitter rivals Gor Mahia and Tusker FC.

What is more agonizing for their supporters is that Gor Mahia have won eight of the last 11 titles and look set to add another one.

In fact, K’Ogalo now boast of 20 league titles to Ingwe’s 12, and it looks like it might take another 30 years for Ingwe to catch up.

Subsequent Leopards leadership has failed to put together title winning teams with coaches hired and fired at will, a scattergun approach in the transfer market and wrangling within the boardroom conspiring to deny them success. When that will change remains to be seen.

No home of their own

The only thing that perhaps brings Leopards and Gor Mahia together is that neither side have managed to have their own base or headquarters.

Leopards do not have a training ground of their own and building a stadium is a pipe dream.

What’s surprising is that Leopards, just Gor Mahia, were allocated a piece of land in Kasarani by former President Daniel arap Moi but decades later, they are still ‘chasing’ the land instead of having developed it.

“We are trying to chase the land that the late second President [Daniel arap Moi] gave us [in Kasarani]. We want to see if we can get somewhere we can be building and preparing the team which can be a big boost,” Shikanda said during the anniversary celebrations on Tuesday.

“We spend around Ksh12,000 per day just to hire a training field and 60 years down the line, we don’t have our own training field. I do not know whom to blame, we cannot blame individuals but we are celebrating 60 years and these 60 years must give us answers.”

If they have not found the answers in 60 years, find them soon is a tough task.

Living from hand to mouth

While their peers in the region such as Simba and Yanga are posting yearly revenues of nearly Ksh1 billion, Leopards are having to deal with go slows over late payment of winning bonuses.

It is a poor reflection of the financial health of the club and their dependence of one sponsor has cost them big previously and appears far from over.

Leopards are always a sponsor departure a way from crisis. Currently, Betika are their main benefactors while the TV deal with Azam also supplements their income.

Beyond that, Ingwe do not make much even from gate collections. This is unsustainable for a club the size and with history of Leopards.

Simba and Yanga for instance boast of multiple sponsors besides more lucrative broadcast deals and have also found creative ways of generating much more from their members besides matchday revenue.

Ingwe turned a corner by going digital for the sell of match tickets but that is a small part of what they need to do to survive in case a sponsor pulls out.

Lack of proper structures

Part of their to-do list after turning 60 is to change how they operate and this is long overdue.

“We need to put in place structures that will take us to the next level. Should we continue remaining a society model, should we go to the corporate model, should we remain hybrid?” posed Shikanda.

They better move with speed because as it is, they are hurting. Part of what has been enumerated above will be solved by whatever structure Shikanda and his team settle on.

That is because even now, they are not managing the affairs of the club well given the recent cases of breach of contract which have seen them shell out large sums in compensation and also hand them transfer bans.

Ingwe have also failed to capitalise on their fanbase through the sale of merchandise while they have either overpaid for players or bought the wrong ones all together.

All these will be solved by having proper structures in place that will enable the club to be run professionally.

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