AFC Leopards’ Beja Hassan (right) vies for the ball with Malonga Hernest of Kenya Police during their FKF Premier League match at Nyayo National Stadium on April 18.
AFC Leopards chairman Boniface Ambani still clings to hope that the unbelievable can happen.
“The title race is still open. Anything can happen in the remaining two rounds. AFC Leopards is a club that fights until the last day.
"We never give up. Gor Mahia, even with four points ahead of us and needing only three points to win the league, can still slip up and hand the title to us,” Ambani told Nation Sport.
“It is not over until it’s over,” he added, espousing the quote made famous by American baseball legend Yogi Berra.
New AFC Leopards boss Boniface Ambani.
The 2025/26 Football Kenya Federation Premier League season is hurtling to its conclusion with Gor leading the standings with 68 points. AFC Leopards, in second place, have 64 points.
Gor Mahia can seal the title on Saturday with a victory away to Mara Sugar at Awendo’s Green Stadium. AFC Leopards will be playing away to APS Bomet on the same day at the Wilson Kiprugut Chumo Stadium in Kericho.
Both teams will finish their season at home, with Gor Mahia hosting Nairobi United and AFC Leopards welcoming the already-relegated Bidco United.
Still, Ambani, who was in the AFC Leopards squad that won the club’s last league title in 1998, will not view a second-place finish – the club’s highest final position since ranking second to Gor Mahia in 20213 – as failure.
“Few had us finishing this high when the season started. Finishing second during my first season as the chairman of AFC Leopards is evidence of the tremendous transformation the club has undergone in that short period. I thank everyone who has been part of this journey,” Ambani said.
That everyone includes Ambani’s elder brother, Fred, who is Leopards’ coach. Fred was also in AFC Leopards’ title winning squad in 1998, during which he was the league’s joint-top scorer, tying on 14 goals with Patrick Mugata of Mumias Sugar. Interestingly, back then, the Ambani brothers formed a lethal strike partnership that culminated in Boniface finishing second in the Golden Boot race with 13 goals.
AFC Leopards’ Beja Hassan (right) vies for the ball with Malonga Hernest of Kenya Police during their FKF Premier League match at Nyayo National Stadium on April 18.
Currently, their chairman-coach collabo has had AFC Leopards supporters dreaming of a repeat of 1998, a scenario which, when he imagined it in November 2025, Fred told Nation Sport, “Boniface and I played together at Rivatex, AFC Leopards, and Oserian. I see our reunion as God’s plan to bring glory back to AFC. It’ll be quite something if we deliver a league title. That will cement our place in the history of the club.”
Should Gor Mahia hold on to their lead, the Ambanis and AFC Leopards will hope to make amends next season. The pressure of maintaining this season’s lofty heights does not faze the younger Ambani. “Pressure does not scare me. I take everything one day at a time. As we speak, we have already started planning for next season. A big club as AFC has to remain competitive.”
Even if the title eludes them this season, Ambani will take the positives of winning outside the pitch.
“We are the best run club in Kenya at the moment. Our administration is the best. Ever since I took over, I have streamlined operations at the club. We have a fully functioning office. We have cleared debts owed to former players and coaches,” said Ambani.
He added: “The current squad receives allowances and salaries on time. We sourced for a new training facility that has reduced our costs. All that has been achieved in less than year.”
There is more to come,” Ambani stated.
“Nowadays we pay players their allowances after they accumulate three wins. That motivates them to win matches consecutively so that they receive their lump sum pay quickly,” he added.
On social media, Ambani has cut an outspoken figure with his hard-hitting criticisms of Hussein Mohammed’s FKF and poor officiating by the league’s referees.
“I will always speak my mind and dealing with online trolls as they come,” Ambani said of his social media activity.
“I have no apologies to make for what I have said about the league’s referees and FKF. People have to be serious with their work,” he added.
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