Let’s not just watch Leopards go to the dogs
What you need to know:
- Although some players must face sanctions, the newly elected officials are 50 percent to blame.
- Low morale in the team causes players to lose interest in going the extra mile.
- Ingwe officials are partly blamed for the club’s current poor results.
- Dialogue between officials and the players is seriously required to rescue Ingwe.
All truly loyal fans of AFC Leopards must be watching in bewilderment as their beloved club lurches from one crisis to another.
I must confess that the current winless results are worrying. Urgent measures must be taken to salvage the club and restore its glory.
Officials and players who are not ready to serve the club diligently must step aside.
Although some players must face sanctions, the newly elected officials are 50 percent to blame.
With my experience as a sports administrator, low morale in the team causes players to lose interest in going the extra mile.
When a senior Ingwe player charges that they have gone for several weeks without being paid their allowances, you know there is a serious problem in the team.
Ingwe officials are partly blamed for the club’s current poor results, since the technical bench under Ivan Minnaert can only produce good results if the players are promptly paid their allowances.
Players’ salaries are paid from the SportPesa sponsorship money, but the team management must look for other ways to raise enough money to help them play allowances and for other logistics.
It has reached a point where dialogue between officials and the players is seriously required to rescue Ingwe.
Recent problems at the club started immediately after elections, that have since divided the team. This is evidenced by the dwindling numbers of supporters in the stadium.
Fans who supported Maurice Amahwa, who lost the race for the chairman’s position, have refused to attend matches, claiming poll officials rigged in Dan Mule.
FACED FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
They include some prominent Luhyas who have completely given up on the club after Mule took the leadership.
They include politicians and branch members who quietly supported Ingwe both in cash and kind, whenever the need arose.
Whenever the team faced a financial problems, politicians including Westlands MP Timothy Wanyonyi, Nairobi County Speaker Alex Magelo, Cecafa secretary general Nicholas Musonye, Cyrus Jirongo, former club chairman Alfred Sambu, among others who openly supported Amahwa.
They have since distanced themselves from the team after their man failed to capture the seat.
They should intervene and mobilise resources to offset players’ allowances. They have since kept quite, but their kind gestures must never be taken for granted.
I disagree with claims that boys are greenhorns because they started off by putting up a good fight and winning matches. Fans appreciated the technical bench for their achievement, especially with the quality they had before the return of Mang’oli Benard, Wafula Edwin, Jackson Saleh as well as the coming of Yakub Ramadhan, Kepha Aswani and Maussa Sissoko, among others.
Before new players’ arrival, coach Minnaert could even field Simon Abuko at the right back position because some defenders were injured.
After bolstering the squad during June transfer window, the team is now challenged by internal sabotage, right from the team selection.
One of the biggest problem with both the current and past officials has been their failure or lack of interest to tap into club’s huge fan base to mobilise resources for the club.