Let’s support our team till end of season

Congratulations to our wonderful fans for being voted Loudest Fans by Football Kenya Federations (FKF). This is good news to our beloved club, but let’s remain focused and humble, redouble our efforts and keep improving our standards.

Fan attendance is so important not only for gate collection, but also for sponsorship revenue. Brands pay to sponsor a team depending on the size of the fan base, which correlates with the number of fans following a match on TV, radio, digital and social media channels.

A survey of 2,000 Kenyan football fans conducted last week by Football Kenya Federation shows that ‘Ingwees’ and ‘Ingwelets’ have the loudest fan base in Kenya, followed by Gor Mahia fans, and those of Shabana FC. Whereas Ingwe supporters have never disappointed for the last two seasons, I still urge them to continue flocking the stands in the coming matches since their numbers could attract more sponsors to the club.

For the last two seasons, AFC Leopards fans have been in a class of their own, bringing back the good vibe to the stadiums.

With their trademark blue and white replica club jerseys and Isukuti drum beats, Ingwe fans have been impressive.

For those who truly care about the game, bonding with fans is an easy way of socialising. After 15 years, there’s a feeling of optimism among Leopards diehards that the team will be much better next season.

Leopards need everybody on board, as it happened on February 5, when it was reported that over Sh3 million was collected from over 20,000 fans at Nyayo Stadium against Gor Mahia.

Money collected during “Mashemeji derby” enabled the club to settle some debts including pending allowances owed to the playing unit.

The fans who turned up on that day created an atmosphere that pushed the players to display high quality football ever witnessed this season. The number would have doubled during the return leg played last month at the same venue, but Leopards were serving a four-match ban imposed by FKF.

FKF learnt just a few weeks that banning Ingwe fans to attend matches was a big mistake, as stadiums remained empty during matches involving Ingwe.

The impact of the suspension of the team’s fans from the stadium proves this point more than anything else.

As we embark of a player recruitment, the club must get rid of brokers interested in cutting deals through signing up incompetent players who end up being excess baggage to the squad.

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