Bryton Onyona (right) of Gor Mahia tussles for the ball with Emmanuel Lwangu of AFC Leopards during the Mashemeji derby at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on December 7, 2025.
For the first time in 14 years, and only the second time this century, the Football Kenya Federation Premier League title race could well feature a nail-biting homestretch battle between traditional archrivals AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia.
The scene was set for the potentially nerve-wracking race at little-known Wanguru Stadium in Kirinyaga County on Tuesday when Tusker defeated Gor Mahia 1-0.
That loss, which ended Gor Mahia’s 16-match unbeaten run, meant the record 21-time Kenyan champions’ point haul was pegged at 57 points, two more than the hot-charging AFC Leopards.
Kakamega Homeboyz, on 46 points, lie third and have the best mathematical chance of the chasing pack to challenge the two runaway leaders.
There are now seven rounds of matches remaining to determine the league winners.
Compared to AFC Leopards, Gor Mahia face a tougher run-in to secure the title.
Mashemeji derby
K’Ogalo’s seven remaining matches are against teams ranked 11th or higher in the league standings – including a 99th Mashemeji derby league meeting against AFC Leopards on April 26.
The other fixtures are against Kakamega Homeboyz (third on the table), Kenya Police (fourth), Nairobi United (eighth), Bandari (ninth), Murang’a Seal (10th), and Mara Sugar (11th). Gor Mahia will play three of those seven matches at home – against Bandari, Kenya Police, and Nairobi United.
AFC Leopards players celebrate after a past FKF Premier League match at Nyayo National Stadium on January 11, 2026.
AFC Leopards' remaining matches include three against relegation-threatened sides. Ingwe’s home matches are against Kenya Police, Gor Mahia, Mara Sugar, and Bidco United (17th). They will visit Ulinzi Stars (15th), Kakamega Homeboyz, and APS Bomet (16th).
Both teams will complete their season at home, with Gor Mahia scheduled to welcome Nairobi United as AFC Leopards host Bidco United on May 30.
Two-horse title races featuring AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia were common in the 1980s, a decade nestled in the 25-year AFC Leopards-Gor Mahia duopoly that lasted from 1968 to 1993.
That era of shared dominance yielded 11 league titles for AFC Leopards, a haul that came with Ingwe becoming the first Kenyan top-flight club to win three consecutive league titles from 1980 to 1982. Gor Mahia responded with their own three-peat in 1983, 1984, and 1985.
This season’s neck and neck homestretch race between the two big rivals is a throwback to the 1970/80s title races and also the crowded ones witnessed in 1992 and 2012.
Jackson Dwang (centre) of Gor Mahia celebrates a goal with teammates Samuel Kapen (left) and Ebenezer Adukwaw during their FKF Premier League match against Shabana at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on March 21, 2026.
In 1992, AFC Leopards won a three-way title race that also featured Gor Mahia and Kisumu Posta on goal difference.
Neither AFC Leopards nor Gor Mahia had luck on their side in 2012 as Tusker were crowned champions on the last day of competition.
Gor Mahia returned stronger in 2013 as they won the league for the first time in 18 years. K’Ogalo amassed 60 points that season as Ingwe escorted them to the title after finishing a distant second with 50 points. That season marked the first time since 1992 that AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia finished in the top two positions in the league.
The return of AFC Leopards to title-race conversations comes the season after Kenya Police’s maiden league title ended the 14-year Gor Mahia-Tusker reign.
Nine league titles
Between 2010 and 2024, Gor Mahia won nine league titles to become the competition’s most successful team with 21 league crowns. The last of those triumphs came in 2024. During that period, Tusker won four league titles to equal AFC Leopards on 12 championships.
AFC Leopards goalkeeper Humprey Katasi (right) in action against Kakamega Homeboyz FC during a Football Kenya Federation Premier League match at Nyayo National Stadium on January 4,2026.
AFC Leopards have endured a 28-year title drought.
Incidentally, their last triumph in 1998 was anchored by a formidable strike partnership of the Ambani brothers – Boniface and Fred, who are now club chairman and coach respectively.
In an interview with Nation Sports in November 2025, Fred described the reunion thus: “A club having brothers as chairman and coach? I do not think it has ever happened before in Kenyan football. I see our reunion as God’s plan to bring glory back to AFC Leopards. It will be quite something if we deliver a league title. That will truly cement our place in the history of the club.”
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