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Football Kenya Federation Premier League side AFC Leopards have confirmed the appointment of Tom Juma as their new head coach.

Juma takes the mantle at the den following the resignation of Patrick Aussems a few weeks ago. Juma has been serving as the assistant head coach at the local giants for a while and will now be at the helm with hopes of guiding the club to its past glory days.

New dawn at Ingwe

Alongside Juma, Fred Ambani, a former Wazito and Nakumatt FC head coach, has been confirmed as another new member of the AFC Leopards’ technical bench. Ambani will serve as Juma’s assistant, and the club has confirmed that it has hope in the ability of the duo to guide the club to success.

“AFC Leopards are pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Juma as the new head coach of the club.

“His appointment as head coach comes after his significant contributions as an integral part of the coaching staff in the previous seasons. Alongside him, the club is pleased to welcome Fred Ambani, who will serve as an assistant coach.

“The management is confident that this coaching duo will lead the team to greater heights in the upcoming season,” AFC Leopards announced.

AFC Leopards had an underwhelming season as they failed to collect a trophy in the 2022–23 campaign. Although they came close to lifting the FKF Cup, they were bundled out at the penultimate stage by Kakamega Homeboyz, who eventually lifted the domestic trophy.

Aussems’ mark

As Juma and his new technical bench assume the coaching roles at the den, they have to deal with the high expectations the fans have for their club. Aussems’ arrival two seasons ago brought some sense of hope, but he left without registering trophy success with the 1998 Premier League giants.

Aussems will be remembered for coming up with a unique playstyle that many fans deemed attractive, but the club’s primary targets remain winning titles in order to compete with Gor Mahia and Tusker, who have dominated the scene for the last decade.

Stronger AFC Leopards

Juma assumes the role at a time when AFC Leopards are allowed to sign players and bolster the squad. During Aussems’ time, the club depended on a thin playing unit given that Leopards had been barred by FIFA from making new signings.

The club found itself in hot soup following cases lodged at FIFA by former players whose arrears and obligations had not been paid.

Apart from bringing on new players, Ingwe are expected, as a matter of tradition, to promote young players into the senior team.