50 years of Leopards’ leap to regional football

By Stephen Ongaro

Ingwe make grand return to international scene by featuring in Confederations Cup drawing Ethiopian opponents just like in 1968

Just two years after its inception in 1964, AFC Leopards (then Abaluhya United) became the first club to win the National League Division One title for two consecutive years (1966 and 1967).

This month, Leopards will make grand return to the international scene by featuring in the Confederation Cup against Ethiopia’s Defence Club.

When Leopards first appeared in the continental club tourney, they were drawn against St. Georges of Ethiopia in 1968.

What a coincidence!

The club shone when they represented some of the finest players in the country who made the bulk of the national team like Joe Kadenge, Jonathan Niva, Charles Haggai Makunda, Stephen Barasa, Moses Wabwayi and Livingston Madegwa.

Between mid 1960s and early 1970s, Abaluhya was a must to watch side at the Doonholm Road Stadium (now Nairobi City Stadium). Their home ground was ever packed to capacity when they played rivals such as Luo Union FC of Nairobi and the defunct Kisumu Hot Stars, two Coast sides Liverpool (renamed Mwenge FC) and Feisal.

Oldest side

Leopards, the oldest side in the Kenyan Premier League, will be 50 years old by the end of the year.

Those early years provide a refreshing vision of glorious league season.  Leopards, the four times East and Central Africa title holders (1979,1982, 1983 and 1984) will be competing in four big events this season.

They will be taking part in Confederations Cup (CAF Cup), Kenyan Premier League, Top-8 tourney and Kenya Power Charity Cup under coach James Nandwa and deputy Mickey Weche.

It was during these years I watched youthful stars prolific striker William ‘Chege’ Ouma, goalkeeper James Siang’a, midfielder maestro Stephen ‘McQueen’ Yongo, goal getter Daniel Odhiambo Nicodemus ‘Arudhi’, Joe Okeyo, ruthless defender Samson Odore among others were capped in the Kenya team for the Gossage Cup competition (now Senior Challenge Cup).

Scored 52 goals

In 1966 Abaluhya dethroned Coast’s Feisal, the 1965 National League Division One titleholders. Abaluhya pumped home 52 goals against 16 in a 12-team competition.

Nakuru All Stars, the inaugural league winners in 1963, were runners-up, followed by Harambee Maseno from Luanda (now Vihiga County. Luo Union, the 1964 champions, were fourth followed by Feisal, United Maragoli, Ramogi (renamed Lake Warriors — now defunct), Kisumu Hot Stars, Nairobi Wanderers, Liverpool (Mwenge), Eldoret United and Kakamega United in that order.

For the second successive season, in 1967, Abaluhya retained the league crown, followed by Luo Sports Club in their first appearance. Following leadership wrangles within Luo Union Welfare Organization in Nairobi, the then Football Association of Kenya (FA) acted swiftly and excluded Luo Union FC from the league competition.

As a result majority of their players opted to turn up for Kisumu Hot Stars in the league which they finished third.

Abaluhya also won FA Cup (an equivalent of GOTV Challenge Cup) in 1967 after beating Coast’s Feisal in the final.

Suffice to say, Leopards’ appearance in the 2014 Confederations Cup will be of great significance, as it will mark a 50th Jubilee celebration since its inception.

AFC Leopards (Abaluhya) was the first Kenyan club to compete in the African Club Championship in 1968. They made history as the first side from the region (East and Central Africa) to reach to the semi-final only to lose 4-2 in aggregate to Togolese side- Etiole Filante (Shooting Stars).

The Kenyans had won the first leg 2-0 in Nairobi but lost the return leg 4-0 in Lome, Togo. They again lost another semi-final of the CAF Cup competition to Leventis United of Nigeria by a 2-1 aggregate in 1985.

Abaluhya featured in an unofficial 1968 East African Club Championships — Allsops Cup which had eight top clubs — drawn from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Kenya’s legendary striker Joe Kadenge scored two of the five goals against Tanzania during AFC’s 5-0 victory over Sunderland (Simba) at the Doonholm Road Stadium.

Before the 1968 season ended, FA slapped a one-year ban on Abaluhya who had refused to play rival Gor Mahia in a friendly match in honour of the then Fifa president Sir Stanley Rous.

The 1968 season ended with Gor Mahia FC clinching the Kenya National Football League title in their first attempt to make a maiden appearance in the continental club tournament the following year.

Both AFC Leopards and Gor have won the national league 13 times apiece. The duo will fly Kenya’s flag in this year’s continental competitions (Confederation Cup and Africa Champions League).

The writer is a veteran journalist and former Kenya Sports Journalist of the Year.

—ongarostephen@yahoo.com