AFC Leopards’ ignominious 4-1 defeat by Bidco United at the weekend has not only left tongues wagging but has seemingly cast doubts on the team’s capability to challenge for the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League title.

The big cats have been forced to make do with a battalion that is predominantly weaved around inexperienced players. Last year, Ingwe Head Coach Patrick Aussiems expressed pessimism about the team’s chances of winning the title following the ban imposed by Fifa to sign new players.

The embargo was for two transfer windows and was necessitated by Leopards’ failure to settle Rwandan midfielder Vincent Habamahoro’s dues, totalling Sh1.8 million, as directed by the world football governing body.

Now, the question is: Has Aussiems’s fear increasingly come to pass and is there any hope that such a crushing loss as last weekend will not recur?

Back to Abamahoro, he was signed by Ingwe in 2018 but after going for four months without pay, he opted to leave alongside Tresor Ndikumana – who is now turning out for Rwandese outfit Gasogi United with others still claiming their unpaid dues are Ismailia Diarra and Soter Kayumba.

The 13-time Football Kenya Federation Premier League champions had initially been handed a 45-day ultimatum to settle the dues owed to their former player.

However, Ingwe failed to keep their part of the deal and Fifa had no option but to crack the whip. Although the die is far from being cast at the den, Aussiems has stated in no uncertain terms that it’s time for every player who cares about the shock defeat by Bidco to stand up to be counted.