Kenyan Premier League 13 time champions AFC Leopards are gearing up for elections that are slated to be held on June 29, 2025.
The elections have attracted two candidates for the position of chairman in what has turned into a two horse race between former international striker Boniface Ambani, a prolific player who holds the national record for most goals scored, and Enos Mutoka the club’s former commercial director.
All indications point at Mutoka in the lead ahead of Ambani who has marshalled a heavy PR machinery to his campaign. A win for Ambani is also a possibility.
Electing Ambani will however put Ingwe on the precipice. Often , community clubs like AFC Leopards required a leadership that is able to steer the team to great heights both administratively and on the pitch.
Such a leader must command respect and must have the ability to make firm, and concrete decisions. As an astute former player and club legend, Ambani has the capability of winning numbers at the polls, however his administration abilities can hardly be written home about.
Ambani might not be able to make decisions that might be vital to the club performance. It is the work of the National Executive Committee led by the chairman to make decisions like the appointment of the club’s technical bench. It is also the role of the chairman and the executive to make key decisions of that determine the club’s financial stability.
Club’s therefore like the case of AFC Leopards must be led by a chairman who has the ability to negotiate and enter into partnership with sponsors. This demands for goodwill between the club chairman and corporate sponsors.
Additional, administration of the club often requires a leader who could ostensibly handle matters of financial nature on a regular basis demanding that the chairman has to be financially stable to raise funds in times of needs like the transportation of teams to matches. Ambani might not have the requisite financial muscle.
To make tough decisions, Ambani might be compromised. The AFC Leopards head coach Fred Ambani is the elder brother to Boniface Ambani. As club chairman, it is doubtful if Boniface would be willing to sack his own brother Fred from the technical bench whereas a team like AFC Leopards require a competent technical bench to be able to compete at continental level. While Fred Ambani is a decent and qualifed coach, it remains evident that AFC Leopards require and international coach to be able to be equally competitive both locally and internationally but would Boniface sack Fred and render his own blood brother jobless? It is doubtful.
As AFC Leopards head into the elections, the electorate must chose wisely and vote for the right leadership.