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HOW ARE THE MIGHTY FALLEN: THE STORY OF AFC LEOPARDS FOOTBALL CLUB

"How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!" These are the words of King David of Israel in 2nd Samuel 1:25-27. Listening to him, you would imagine that he was commentating the AFC Leopards' match against Wazito FC. They lost that match 2-0. AFC Leopards have set the bar really high of how a team falls from the very top of their game to the very rock bottom. The one-time East African giants are now a shadow of their farmer selves, literally. They have lost their identity, style and minds and their dwindling fan base has endured perhaps the most harrowing times of their lives. If you've got a heart, you must feel for them. But it has not always been like that.


Less than seven years ago they were the most successful club in Kenya having won the league a (then) record 13 times. They used to beat Gor Mahia and other clubs around them like Brock Lesner beats Roman Reigns. But fast forward seven years later: Gor Mahia has beaten them seven times in a row, collected the KPL title five times in the last six years and is enjoying continental success... AFC Leopards must be green with envy. In a period where most top clubs in Kenya and indeed East Africa are enjoying stability, the small cats are distinctively enduring very turbulent times. But that's not all. Gor Mahia has beaten AFC Leopards four times this season alone (2017 - 2018): in both legs of the League, in a cup game and in a pre-season friendly. Leopards trophy cabinet is a museum, a graveyard devoid of any activity. The best supported club in Kenya (that's how they style themselves) has not laid hands on any silverware for the last 5 years. Their rivalry with Gor Mahia is effectively over, only bitterness remains.
The last time AFC Leopards won the Kenya Premier League is now 23 years ago and counting.. Kids born that year now have driving licenses and have kids of their own. But this wouldn't be so bad if the Leopards were challenging for the top honours every year. The problem is, they are not. They only scramble for the pieces that fall from the masters' table. The one meaningful trophy they have won in 20 years is the GOtv shield (the equivalent of the FA Cup in England) and a few invitational pre-season tournaments. For some perspective, during that 20-year period, Tusker Fc have won the League 8 times, Ulinzi 4 times, Gor Mahia 5 times, Sofapaka and even Sony Sugar FC have won the league one season a piece. Yet the Leopards, with a bigger fan-base than the Sofapaka, Sony Sugar, Mathare United and Tusker combined, have not.

The footballing times have changed in Kenya, but sadly AFC Leoprads have remained behind the times. They still count Gor Mahia among their rivals, their fans still damage property and stadia facilities when their team loses an important match. Their motto reads "Ours forever" and you wonder how that is supposed to motivate players and rally them behind the badge. Their name too is rather outdated: "Abaluhya Football Club Leopards Soccer Club" sounds more like an old nursery rhyme from the 70s than a forward looking football club intent on drawing global audience. The entire club from the ground up is crying out for a re-branding, or a revamp, if not a complete overhaul.


I feel for AFC Leopards fans. They have born the brunt of bad management. With the kind of fans AFC Leopards has, they should be doing better. Incessant in-fightings, court cases, personal ambitions and greed have reduced the fortunes of this one-time great club to nothing. Every time a new office comes to power, lofty ambitions are set, promises are dished out like food rations in a refugee camp and propaganda pumped down the throats of the desperate fans who gladly take them in. And when the push comes to shove, the optimism turn into complaints, ambitions turn into court cases and promises turn into excuses. Results become poor, the coach and the technical bench get fired, the fans get rowdy and damage facilities, fines follow, then new court cases, new elections ... the roller coaster restarts all over again. It is just how AFC Leopards do things. It's in their DNA.


AFC Leopards have had almost ten coaches in the last 7 years, talk about being ambitious! They have bought really good players over time, have had strong corporate sponsorships but success on the pitch has remained elusive. Unfortunately, it is the only thing that matters to fans, and pretty much anyone.
This season may yet end trophiless for AFC Leopards. And as has been the norm, the coach will be the first to lose his job at the end of the season. A local caretaker coach will oversee the preseason recruitment, optimism will hit the roof as another foreign coach gets hired and when the new season begins.... well, same old, same old. The King is dead. Long live the King! Gor Mahia's domination is set to continue - if you smell what Kogalo is cooking!

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