AFC Leopards players celebrate a goal against Mathare United in a Kenyan Premier League match at Nyayo National Stadium on November 2, 2025.
The 2025-26 FKF Premier League mid-season transfer window opened on Monday with AFC Leopards entering the market in an aggressive search for a target man.
“I have a stable team but our attack needs reinforcement. When the transfer window opens we will be in the market for a target man,” AFC Leopards coach Fred Ambani said after his team lost 1-0 to Kakamega Homeboyz in a league match that was played at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday.
Ambani was speaking to the league’s official broadcasters, Azam.
Despite being joint second in the FKF Premier League standings with Kakamega Homeboyz and Tusker on 24 points, AFC Leopards’ blunt attack has denied the club opportunities to get the job done in some matches.
The team has played 14 matches this season, winning six, drawing another six, and losing two. They have scored 14 goals. Instructively, the team has only scored more than once in a game on six occasions.
Five of Leopards’ wins have been by a margin of just one goal (three 2-1 wins and two 1-0 wins). Leopards’ 2-0 over Mathare United in November accounts for the club’s biggest win this season.
AFC Leopards winning mostly by one-goal margins is a situation that can be observed across the whole league. For instance, defending champions Kenya Police’s six wins have been by one-goal margins. The law enforcers are sixth with 22 points.
AFC Leopards coach Fred Ambani during the Mashemeji Derby at Nyayo National Stadium on March 30, 2025.
Tusker, who have won seven matches this season, have also won six matches by the odd goal.
It is only Gor Mahia who have a higher rate of winning matches convincingly – five of their seven wins have been by healthy margins. That effort is manifested in them having the best goal difference in the league, +10.
To underscore their potent strike force, the record Kenyan champions thrashed bottom side Kariobangi Shark 4-1 on Tuesday evening to move top of the table with 26 points.
Producing prolific strikers
In a league where most matches end 0-0, 1-0, or 2-1, it very much explains why the FKF Premier League is not known for producing prolific strikers. Twenty-goal-a-season strikers are unicorns in this part of the world.
Hence, while narrow wins are already a standard of the FKF Premier League, the team that will eventually win league is the one that is capable of turning draws into wins, and salvaging draws from losing situations.
Ebenezer Adukwa (left) controls the ball as Musa Oundo of AFC Leopards closes in during the Mashemeji derby at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on December 7, 2025.
Perhaps that is the team that AFC Leopards needs to become in order to win their first league title since 1998.
Getting a target man, as Ambani labels the profile of the attacker he wants, many not add more goals to AFC Leopards, may just end up solving the problem AFC Leopards seem to have – drawing far too many games (six). Only Bandari (8 matches) have drawn more matches than them.
Victor Omune, who is AFC Leopards’ main striker, is currently struggling to be that player. He has scored only two goals this season – equalisers in AFC Leopards’ 2-1 win over Shabana and the 1-1 draw against Kariobangi Sharks.
Omune is AFC Leopards’ top scorer together with midfielder Boniface Kweyu. AFC Leopards’ other 10 league goals have come from as many different players.
Therefore, in a team where the goal scoring burden is spread across many players, a proven target man may give AFC Leopards the edge they need to get over the line in difficult matches.
However, options are limited as such a type of player is rare in Kenyan football. Currently, only one player, Paul Okoth of Ulinzi Stars, fits the profile of the striker AFC Leopards needs.
Okoth is the top scorer with nine goals, three more than Murang’a Seal midfielder Joe Waithira. APS Bomet forward Hansel Ochieng’ is third with five goals. Nine players are tied on four goals.
Hence, in the aftermath of Ambani’s remarks, the big question is, will they move for Paul Okoth?
