Kenya: Afc Leopards Plan to Drop Players in Transfer Window

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Dun Okinyo

27 May 2011

AFC Leopards plan to drop under performing players at the end of the first leg of the Premier League season. The club’s chief executive officer Richard Ekhalie said they will have no choice but to axe some of their senior players due to what he termed as lack of commitment to the club. “AFC Leopards is likely to relegate some of senior non-performing players in next month’s transfer window period in view of the recent poor performance in the ongoing Kenya Premier League,” he said.

He said the club’s executive committee together with the technical bench had discussed the matter and are on the lookout for the non-performers. He said some players have recently displayed lack of passion and desire to play for a club of AFC calibre hence the recent poor showing.

“Time has come to do away with players who have no passion to be with the club. Some players have failed to give their best and are taking the team and sponsors’ effort for granted,” Ekhalie said.

He said the committee is looking into ways of replacing them with players who can take the club to the next level. The CEO promised major changes in the team after the remaining three Kenya Premier League league matches.

“The committee has discussed various proposals that will force the players to keep their focus on performance. No one can defend the team’s pathetic performance in the league and it’s obviously that we need a major surgery,” he said. Ekhalie said the team would come up with a new list of centrally contracted players, who are ready to protect the clubs image both on and off the field.

“Leopards is a big club that is expected to do well at all time. The performance of the team at the moment has killed the morale of our loyal fans and we are not happy with that. We need to do something,” he said. He accused some players of colluding with the immediate office bearers to sabotage the club during their league matches.

“We know the players who have been asked to sabotage the club and we are fully aware of that. That is what we call lack of commitment from the players. If you can decide to do something like that, then it means you are not worth playing for us,” Ekhalie said.

Leopards who started the league on a positive note winning three matches out of four, have only collected three points in their last five matches and are now lying ninth on the table with 16 points from 12 matches. Leopards have been rumored to be interested in various players including Hillary Echesa of Tanzania’s Simba Sports and Ulinzi’s hit man Mike Baraza. Ekhalie said there is still room for improvement

AllAfrica – All the Time