Abaluhya Football Club Leopards Sports Club, officially abbreviated as AFC Leopards, or simply known as AFC, Leopards or ''Ingwe'' (), is a Kenyan

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

. It currently competes in the

Kenyan Premier League The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League and as the BetKing Premier League (BPL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan ...

, the top tier of the

Kenyan football league system The Kenyan football league system is a series of several interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Kenya. Structure As of 2017,the top tier league in Kenya is the FKF Premier League, with the FKF National Super League below it. Th ...

, and was founded in 1964 by football lovers from the luhya community. With 12 top-flight league titles to their name, AFC Leopards is Kenya's second most successful club behind

Gor Mahia Gor Mahia Football Club (), commonly also known as ''K'Ogalo'' (), is a football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. They have won the Kenyan Premier League a record 19 times, and have also won the FKF President's Cup a record 11 times. They are the o ...

(18 titles), with whom they regularly contest the Mashemeji Derby. The team currently plays most of its home games at the

Nyayo National Stadium Nyayo National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. It is located at the square of Mombasa Road, Langata Road and the Aerodrome Road. It is approximately two kilometers from the City Center, directly opposite Nairobi Mega Mall, ...

AFC Leopards' standing as one of the most successful clubs in the region is underlined by the fact that it has won the

a record 12 times. AFC Leopards has also won the

Kenya Cup The Kenya Cup is the top tier club rugby union competition in Kenya organized by the Kenya Rugby Union. For the 2019-2020 season, twelve teams are divided into two pools of six, Each team plays home and away against each team in its pool and on ...

10 times, and the CECAFA Club Championship 5 times. The club was formed in 1964 as Abaluhya United Football Club. In 1973 the club changed the name to Abaluhya Football Club when a number of small clubs amalgamated. In 1980 the club was named AFC Leopards till now. In 2008 they played in the Nationwide League and won the title in their zone. They returned to the

for the 2009 season in which it also won the KFF Cup.

History

The 1960s: The Good Beginnings

From the 1960s or even earlier; the notion and formation of various Abaluya teams for invitational matches became the forerunner of what eventually would become Abaluhya United. The East African Standard Newspapaer published a report on the birth of a club called Abaluhya Football Club which resulted from the amalgamation of Marama, Samia United and Bunyore; all Nairobi based clubs that were in Division 1 of the Kenya National Football League. The amalgamation process also included lower division clubs such as Kisa, Tiriki, Bukusu Brotherhood, Busamia, Lurambi, Butsotso, Bushibungo and Eshirotsa thus building its base and establishments that would make it a success in the future. This was reported in the newspaper on 12 March 1964, making it our official birthday.

The 1970s and 80s: Legacy Building and Golden Era

This was a period of the club’s sustained performance pushed the Club to more fame and paved the way for a future glorious era. This included winning the Kenya National Football League in an unbeaten fashion and in the process becoming the first Kenyan club to do so. Business as usual as Leopards marked the 80s by bring more silverware to the Den marking an unprecedented period of dominance majorly in the domestic and regional scene.

The 1990s and 2000s: Little Success and Decline

In the 90s, achievements became less frequent, although in general the team continued to win some championships thus never suffering a considerable title drought. The beginning of dismal campaigns for the following 10 years, including relegation from the top tier. However, the club’s strong team spirit, the goals of its founders, its relatively stable support base; ensured the club is rejuvenated.

Honours

League Honours

* Kenya National Football League/Kenyan Super League/Kenyan Premier League ** Champions (12): 1966, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1998 *

Kenyan Nationwide League The Kenyan Nationwide League was the second-division football league in Kenya, until it was replaced by FKF Division One. There is promotion and relegation with the Kenyan Premier League and the Kenyan Provincial League. History In 2008 Nationwid ...

**Champions (Promoted): 2008

Cup Honours

FKF President's Cup The FKF President's Cup (known as the Betway Shield cup for sponsorship reasons) is the top knockout tournament in Football in Kenya, Kenyan football. It was created in 1956, but during its existence the knockout tournament has had different name ...

: 10 ** Champions (10): 1967, 1968,1984, 1985, 1991, 1994, 2001, 2009,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2017 **Runner's Up: 1987, 1997, 2000, 2003 *

CECAFA Club Cup The CECAFA Club Cup is a football club tournament organised by CECAFA. It has been known as the Kagame Interclub Cup since 2002, when Rwandan President Paul Kagame began sponsoring the competition. It is contested by clubs from East and Central Afr ...

: 5 ** Champions (5): 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1997. **Runner's Up: 1974, 1980, 1985 * CECAFA Nile Basin Cup **Runner's Up: 2014

Performance in CAF competitions

African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League

*First round exits: 1971,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, 1982,

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

*Second round exits:

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

*Quarter-finals: 1974,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

*Semi-final:

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

CAF Confederation Cup

*Preliminary round exits: 2010

CAF Cup The CAF Cup was an annual competition organised by the CAF for domestic leagues runners-up of member associations who have not qualified to the pre-existing CAF international club competition the African Cup of Champions Clubs. History The tou ...

*Quarter-finals:

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

African Cup Winners' Cup

*First round exits: 1992, 1992, 2002 *Second round exits:

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

*Quarter-final exits:

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

*Semi-final exits:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Players

Current squad

Out On Loan

Footballing and medical staff

Board of directors

Coaches and managers

Interim Manager

References

Sources * The Standard, 23 July 200
Once proud ‘Ingwe’ bite relegation bullet
* Kenya Premier League,8 February 2009
Over-flowing crowds finally a 'crisis'? Hope Centre ground fails to cope

External links

* {{Football in Kenya Kenyan Premier League clubs Football clubs in Kenya Association football clubs established in 1964 Sport in Nairobi 1964 establishments in Kenya