Ingwe Facebook Fans To Fund Club

According to AFC Leopards Facebook Branch Chairman Geoffrey Lukuyu, it is important for fans to come together and find a lasting solution to the club’s financial woes.

“The club is ours, the National Executive Council (NEC) officials are just caretakers and anything happening to the club affects us all so we cannot sit back and watch the club sink,” said Mr Lukuyu.

He appealed to all Ingwe fans, members and friends to come out and stand with the team adding that the money raised will not be handed to NEC or be given to players as a gift but used to clear some of the arrears that the club owes players and technical bench in form of allowances and salaries.

According to the acting head of the club's mobilisation committee Ericson Band, the ongoing initiative is a long term solution to Leopards' unending financial difficulties.

“We are seeking to create a platform that will bring together AFC Leopards fans in a bid to grow the club,” said Mr Band, popularly known as Kipawa Kimoja.

LASTING SOLUTION

Mr Band said that financial issues at the Den were in existence even before Mumias Sugar came on board as sponsors adding that the current financial trouble at the sugar company should not be blamed for the issues at the club.

“The financial issues at AFC Leopards began way before Mumias Sugar came on board and so we should not blame them for the situation at the club. It is time fans came together and worked on finding a lasting solution to this issue to prevent the club from sinking,” he said.

Banda said the recovery plan in place will be well structured to contain experts in different fields including Finance, Law, Media, Marketing and Business in order to create a formidable team that will find a sustainable solution for Ingwe.

He also expressed the team's willingness to work with the club’s top hierarchy for the greater good of the club noting that the National Executive Committee (NEC) should convene a meeting to discuss pressing issues at the club.

“The problem is that NEC has always been reactive to issues affecting the club rather than being proactive. We do not mind meeting them and giving them proposals of things that we believe will change the club's fortune,” he said.

ALTERNATIVE MEANS

Last week a number of AFC Leopards fans contributed Ksh 109,000 which was paid to 28 players and the club’s technical bench as a way of motivating them. The fans are also in the process of collecting more money to help alleviate the situation with a meeting convened Wednesday evening aimed at channelling the way forward.

“We have so far collected Ksh 72,000 and the response has been great. We expect to hit the Ksh 100,000 mark by the end of the day so that we can help alleviate the players’ suffering,” he noted.

Ingwe's Deputy Secretary General Prof Asava Kadima said the Executive Committee supports the fans' initiative as they also try to find alternative means to settle players' arrears.

"We fully support the fans' drive as we also explore other means of getting money to solve the situation. We had a meeting with branch chairmen a while back and expressed our support. We are also planning to meet again and find ways of solving the situation," said Prof Kadima.

Kadima also confirmed that the club received 2 million from KPL which went towards settling part of the salary arrears owed by players and the technical bench and they are now back in training.

KPL MONEYBAGS

The situation at AFC Leopards, considered one of the two big clubs in the country, has been dire since last season when there were reports of sabotage and go slow within the playing unit due to unpaid allowances and accrued salaries.

The club, mockingly known as KPL moneybags due to their tendency to make expensive signings, notably cut back on their spending during the January transfer season due to lack of funds.

Late last week, the club received a loan of 2 million shilling from the Kenya Premier League (KPL) to help reduce the arrears owed by players after they boycotted training for a whole week.

By Benjamin Wafula