AFC Leopards Official Reveals Why Ingwe is Struggling to Attract Top Quality Players

AFC Leopards Secretary General Issac Mulindi has opened up on the difficulties the club is having in securing quality players for the club.

Leopards have just had one of their best seasons in the last decade, having finished second behind Gor Mahia in the FKF Premier League.

Ingwe lost the league title by five points, a remarkable improvement from the sixth place of the previous season, and were in the title hunt until the penultimate match of the campaign.

The club’s smart recruitment is credited for the improved form but Mulindi feels they would have been top had they managed to secure their top targets.

The Leopards official says Ingwe has been scanning the transfer market in Kenya and across Africa in search for top talents but are being held back by the financial demands of their targets which is way out of the club’s budget.

“You keep demanding for the best but the best comes with a lot of finances. If you want the best, you have to spend,” Mulindi said at the club’s awards gala on Friday.

“If we want to change the league and do the best, it comes with a lot of finances. We have talked to a lot of players in this country and outside. The very best from outside the country, we have even paid for their flights to come.

“But when you hear what they are demanding, you wonder. Some people are asking for a $30,000 (Ksh3.87 million) signing-on fee. Others want a [salary] of $2,500 (Ksh323,031) per month. You have to clap for our players because they are persevering.”

Mulindi says those demands are now spilling over to the current squad because a number of players are asking for improved terms, putting the club under extra pressure.

“There are three or four who are now demanding too much. They are putting pressure on us. They have a right to demand for the best because now AFC Leopards is at the top. If we want to go to the next level, we have to spend the money required,” Mulindi further stated.

Despite the challenges, Leopards remain confident that they will still land good players who will help them achieve their ambitions of winning the Premier League next season, which will be 29 years since their last title triumph.