AFC Leopards will end 26-year trophy drought new season, says President Dan Shikanda
AFC Leopards President Dan Shikanda says the time for the club to end their almost decade wait to win the FKF Premier League title is now, and it will happen in the new 2024/25 season.
Ingwe’s last league success came in 1998 while their last trophy triumph – the domestic Cup – was realised in 2017 after securing a 2-0 victory against Kariobangi Sharks in the final.
Last season, they concluded the campaign trophyless with rivals Gor Mahia bagging a record 21st league title while Kenya Police won the domestic Mozzart Bet FKF Cup. AFC finished the season in position fifth of the 18 team table, with 51 points, a whooping 22 points behind K’Ogalo.
They managed 13 wins, 12 draws and nine defeats despite firing coach Tom Juma at the early stages of the campaign, replacing him with Tomas Trucha.
Ingwe’s Trophy Drought Will Come to an End
Without giving details of what they will do differently, Shikanda, who turned out for Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards during his playing career, is confident the club formed in 1964 as Abaluhya United Football Club, will finally win the Premier League this season.
“The new season will belong to AFC Leopards, we will win the league, we want to make it clear, and this message must reach out to our rivals including Gor Mahia, mark this day in your calendar, and it is good to say it so that teams in the league be aware of our intentions,” Shikanda told SportsBoom.com.
We have waited a long time for the title but our time is now, we will end the drought in the new season.
Dan Shikanda
"Of course, it will not be easy, I can predict at least six teams fighting for the title but at the end of the day, AFC Leopards will come up tops, we will be crowned champions. We will be the last team standing, it will be our season.”
Shikanda added: “You can go ask my coach Tomas (Trucha), he is here and will tell you the same thing, it is not going to be business as usual, we will fight for the title, we will do everything to win it for the fans, we all know it has been a long wait and time to deliver the success is now, I don’t see anything that will stand on our way.”
Asked if Ingwe will beef up their squad, Shikanda said: “We already have plans to strengthen the squad, we have the list of targets from the technical bench and we will make sure we sign the players in readiness for the new season.”
During the triumphant season in 1998, Ingwe finished top of the table, three points ahead of second-placed Mumias Sugar to win their 12th title in history. In the following campaign, Ingwe failed to defend the title, finishing second and it is from then until now that they are still searching for the elusive crown.
The last trophy for Ingwe was the FKF Cup, then the GOtv Shield, which arrived on October 20th, 2017, following a 2-0 victory against Sharks. Under coach Robert Matano, Ingwe scored through defender Abdalla Salim and forward Vincent Oburu to win the final and clinch the domestic Cup.
Former Manager Eymael Comments
In a previous interview, former AFC Leopards coach Luc Eymael outlined what the once mighty giants need to do to end the trophy drought.
According to the Belgian tactician, Eymael said Ingwe can achieve success if they stick with their technical bench and the playing unit heading into the new season.
AFC Leopards have a coach; I think they should be happy with the coach, I think the coach wants to go into the transfer market and get new players, and reinforce the squad, so it is not time to make changes, it is time to look at continuity in all aspects and see how far they can go in the new season
Eymael
“For AFC Leopards, I can say it is difficult to bring back those glory days to the team, but what can you do if you want to keep changing coaches, it is not easy but when you are in such institutions (as the management) you must keep the trust to bring back the glory days by sticking with what you have, and trusting in the process, that is your job, it is your job, and you have to do it.”
Shikanda is Day Dreaming About FKF Title
Kakamega Homeboyz chairman Cleophas Shimanyula laughed off Shikanda’s statement calling the Ingwe boss “a day dreamer lying to the club's faithful.”
“Shikanda is just daydreaming, he is building castles in the air, he knows it will not be possible for AFC Leopards to win the title and he already started blowing his own trumpet just like he does whenever a season is about to start,” Shimanyula told SportsBoom.
“He is just dreaming, who doesn’t dream anyway? It is good for him to dream now, he should celebrate winning the title in his dreams but not in reality because I don’t see it happening soon.”
The Homeboyz boss continued: “It is not the first time Shikanda is blowing his own lies to Ingwe fans, they have become a next season team, we will win the title next season just like Arsenal in the Premier League, but when the season comes to an end they don’t have a trophy, it will be the same, nothing will change at AFC Leopards, they won’t win the league.
“In fact, ask them to beat Homeboyz home and away before they start thinking about winning the title, that is what they should be working on (getting maximum points from Homeboyz), I know it is a tall order to ask them, just like it is a tough task for them to go ahead and win next season's title.”
Shimanyula went further to say that Ingwe will conclude the 2024/25 season trophyless again “if they don’t up their game”.
They (AFC) will not win anything (not even the domestic Cup), they will end the season without a trophy, please write it down somewhere and ask me when the season concludes. It is unfortunate for Shikanda to give his fans false hopes when he clearly knows it is not possible and it will not happen.
Shimanyula
Shimanyula, whose Homeboyz beat AFC Leopards in the semi-finals of the Mozzart Bet Cup on their way to winning their first ever title in the 2022/23 season, explained why Shikanda’s pronouncement will affect the team’s plans for the season.
“He is putting too much pressure on the players, and this may work against their plans, he should have better done it silently, set whatever they want to achieve internally, tell the players what he wants them to get at the end of the season rather than coming out guns blazing for nothing,” concluded Shimanyula, famously referred to as ‘Toto’.
Ingwe, who suffered relegation from the top-tier in 2008 but regained straight promotion in 2009 after winning the lower division - National Super League (NSL) - have won the domestic competition 10 times, and the Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) Club Championship, now renamed to Kagame Cup five times.
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.