AFC Leopards
Encyclopedia
AFC Leopards Sports Club, often simply known as "AFC" or "the Leopards," is a soccer club, based in Nairobi
which was founded in 1964. Nicknamed "ingwe" ("leopard" in Luhya), it is a traditional and popular Kenyan team and its home stadium is the Nyayo National Stadium
, with a capacity of 30,000. Despite being based in the capital, Nairobi in the country's south east,the bedrock of its support is in western Kenya. The team plays in white shirts with blue hoops, white shorts and blue socks and sometimes with blue and white vertically-striped shirts; its alternative outfit is red jerseys and white shorts. Its traditional rival is Gor Mahia
; their encounters are assumed to be thrillers, and because of the passion of the fans they are considered as the most intense and famous derbies in the region. AFC is considered an eastern, central and southern Africa soccer powerhouse because of its numerous continental appearances and its dominance in the CECAFA club championships, in addition to its dazzling array of formidable players.
The club was formed in 1964 as Abaluhya United FC when a number of small clubs amalgamated. The name was changed to Abaluhya FC and later to All Footballers Confederation-Leopards, still maintaining the AFC initials (and became AFC Leopards) in 1980, when the Kenyan government banned tribal names (Abaluhya refers to the Luhya tribe). Like many other traditional Kenyan clubs, AFC Leopards faced severe financial difficulties due to mismanagement.Controversies surrounding the conduct of the premier league ended with the club being relegated albeit controversially. In this regard it did not participate in any league in 2007 but took part in the low key KFF Community Cup, which marked its resurgence. In 2008 they played in Nationwide League
, the second tier league in Kenya and won their zone, thus returning to the Kenyan Premier League for the 2009 season in which it also won the Football Kenya Cup. All in all,"ingwe" has maintained a very respectable level of play and still holds a strong tradition as a historical team.
The club is arguably the biggest and most popular football club in Kenya and the Eastern Africa - with 9 million estimated supporters locally. These fans are composed into a number of supporters branches spread all over the country. More so, its support and fame transcends beyond the Kenyan boundaries to the rest of the continent especially the entire Eastern and Southern Africa. In a sense, Kenya and East Africa's favourite soccer club never plays an away match – AFC Leopards SC draws more supporters at away games than its opposition 'home' teams.Even at present the club still retains higher average attendances than all the clubs in the Kenya Premier League.In fact their first match upon return to the 2009 premier league had to be stopped because of insecurity occasioned by the collapsing of the perimeter fence due to a mammoth crowd of its supporters in and outside the ground.
In March 2011, a group of the Club’s supporters established a democratically accountable Supporters’ Trust – the Club of Leopards’ Active and Wise Supporters (CLAWS) Trust. It has a legal Constitution with a wide range of objectives. Its objectives can be summarized as aiming to represent the interests of AFC Leopards supporters to the Club management, the media, the local community including corporate partners and the football world, as well as encouraging football in the local community and strengthening the links between the local community and the Club.
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
which was founded in 1964. Nicknamed "ingwe" ("leopard" in Luhya), it is a traditional and popular Kenyan team and its home stadium is the Nyayo National Stadium
Nyayo National Stadium
Nyayo National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. It is located near the city centre. The stadium holds 30,000 people and was built in 1983. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The popular AFC Leopards football club plays most of its home games at Nyayo stadium. ...
, with a capacity of 30,000. Despite being based in the capital, Nairobi in the country's south east,the bedrock of its support is in western Kenya. The team plays in white shirts with blue hoops, white shorts and blue socks and sometimes with blue and white vertically-striped shirts; its alternative outfit is red jerseys and white shorts. Its traditional rival is Gor Mahia
Gor Mahia
Gor Mahia F.C., commonly referred to as Gor Mahia, is a football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. It is one of the two most popular Kenyan football clubs . They won twelve Kenyan Premier League titles and nine FKL Cups. In addition they are the only Kenyan club to win an African continental title, the...
; their encounters are assumed to be thrillers, and because of the passion of the fans they are considered as the most intense and famous derbies in the region. AFC is considered an eastern, central and southern Africa soccer powerhouse because of its numerous continental appearances and its dominance in the CECAFA club championships, in addition to its dazzling array of formidable players.
History
AFC Leopards' standing as one of the most successful clubs in the region is underlined by the fact that it has won the Kenyan football league 12 times and the Kenyan cup six times, and the CECAFA Club championship 5 times.The club was formed in 1964 as Abaluhya United FC when a number of small clubs amalgamated. The name was changed to Abaluhya FC and later to All Footballers Confederation-Leopards, still maintaining the AFC initials (and became AFC Leopards) in 1980, when the Kenyan government banned tribal names (Abaluhya refers to the Luhya tribe). Like many other traditional Kenyan clubs, AFC Leopards faced severe financial difficulties due to mismanagement.Controversies surrounding the conduct of the premier league ended with the club being relegated albeit controversially. In this regard it did not participate in any league in 2007 but took part in the low key KFF Community Cup, which marked its resurgence. In 2008 they played in Nationwide League
Nationwide League
Nationwide League may refer to:*The Football League of England*Nationwide League...
, the second tier league in Kenya and won their zone, thus returning to the Kenyan Premier League for the 2009 season in which it also won the Football Kenya Cup. All in all,"ingwe" has maintained a very respectable level of play and still holds a strong tradition as a historical team.
Support
AFC Leopards SC has a large and diverse fanbase, who hold a long-standing rivalry with other clubs, especially Gor Mahia.The club is arguably the biggest and most popular football club in Kenya and the Eastern Africa - with 9 million estimated supporters locally. These fans are composed into a number of supporters branches spread all over the country. More so, its support and fame transcends beyond the Kenyan boundaries to the rest of the continent especially the entire Eastern and Southern Africa. In a sense, Kenya and East Africa's favourite soccer club never plays an away match – AFC Leopards SC draws more supporters at away games than its opposition 'home' teams.Even at present the club still retains higher average attendances than all the clubs in the Kenya Premier League.In fact their first match upon return to the 2009 premier league had to be stopped because of insecurity occasioned by the collapsing of the perimeter fence due to a mammoth crowd of its supporters in and outside the ground.
In March 2011, a group of the Club’s supporters established a democratically accountable Supporters’ Trust – the Club of Leopards’ Active and Wise Supporters (CLAWS) Trust. It has a legal Constitution with a wide range of objectives. Its objectives can be summarized as aiming to represent the interests of AFC Leopards supporters to the Club management, the media, the local community including corporate partners and the football world, as well as encouraging football in the local community and strengthening the links between the local community and the Club.
Achievements
- Kenyan Premier LeagueKenyan Premier LeagueThe Kenyan Premier League is the first division football league in Kenya. It was formed in 1963 under the Kenya Football Federation but is now controlled by Football Kenya Limited....
: 12
-
- 1966, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1998.
- Kenyan President's CupKenyan President's CupThe FKL Cup, formerly the KFF Cup, is the top knockout tournament of Kenyan football. It was created in 1956, but during its existence the knockout tournament has had different names....
: 7
-
- 1967, 1968, 1985, 1991, 1994, 2001, 2009.
- CECAFA Clubs Cup: 5
-
- 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1997.
Performance in CAF competitions
- CAF Champions LeagueCAF Champions LeagueThe CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...
: 1 appearance
-
- 1999 - First Round
- African Cup of Champions Clubs: 12 appearances
-
- 1968African Cup of Champions Clubs 1968The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1968 was the 4th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: Semi-Finals - 1971African Cup of Champions Clubs 1971The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1971 was the 7th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: First Round - 1972African Cup of Champions Clubs 1972The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1972 was the 8th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: withdrew in First Round - 1974African Cup of Champions Clubs 1974The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1974 was the 10th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: Quarter-Finals
- 1968
-
- 1981African Cup of Champions Clubs 1981The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1981 was the 17th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: First Round - 1982African Cup of Champions Clubs 1982The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1982 was the 18th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: First Round - 1983African Cup of Champions Clubs 1983The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1983 was the 19th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: First Round - 1983African Cup of Champions Clubs 1983The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1983 was the 19th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: First Round
- 1981
-
- 1987African Cup of Champions Clubs 1987The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1987 was the 23rd edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: Second Round - 1989African Cup of Champions Clubs 1989The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1989 was the 24th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: Second Round - 1990African Cup of Champions Clubs 1990The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1990 was the 25th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: Quarter-Finals - 1993African Cup of Champions Clubs 1993The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1993 was the 28th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...
: First Round
- 1987
- CAF Confederation CupCAF Confederation CupThe CAF Confederation Cup is an international club association football competition run by the Confederation of African Football.-Qualification:...
: 1 appearance
-
- 2010 - Preliminary Round
- CAF CupCAF CupThe CAF Cup was an annual competition organised by the CAF for domestic leagues runner-ups of member associations who haven't qualified to one of the two pre-existing CAF international club competitions the African Cup of Champions Clubs or the African Cup Winners' Cup.-Format:Only runner-ups of...
: 2 appearances
-
- 1994 - Quarter-Finals
- 1997 - Quarter-Finals
- CAF Cup Winners' Cup: 5 appearances
-
- 1985 - Semi-Finals
- 1986 - Second Round
-
- 1988 - Quarter-Finals
- 1992 - First Round
-
- 2002 - First Round
Current squad
From http://afcleopards.co.ke/index.php/players.html, 14/8/10Executive Committee
- Chairman: Alexander Ole Magelo
- Secretary: Josephert Bukachi
- Treasurer: Patrick Ngaira
- Organising Secretary: Timothy Lilumbi
Technical staff
- Head Coach:
Jan Koops - Assistant Coach:
Mickey Weche - Goalie Trainer: Mohammed Fwaya
- Team Manager: Bernard Onyango
- Technical Advisor: Noah Wanyama
- Physiotherapist: Patrick Ngusale