Nairobi — Barcelona-based semi-pro side AE Ramassa was in Nairobi for the 'Ingwe at 60' celebrations, a festival celebrating AFC Leopards' 60 years of existence and played a friendly match against the club's former players who retired in the last three to 10 years.
There had been anticipation that they would play the AFC Leopards main team, but head coach Thomas Trucha has explained to Capital Sports why they were not the ones on the pitch against the Spanish side.
"We were told by the FKF that there is a rule, a club cannot play an international friendly match during the FIFA break. So that is why we could not play the game. I had also wanted us to play maybe a club in Tanzania or Uganda, but it was not possible. Unfortunately it is the rule and we must follow it," the tactician told Capital Sport as he watched the game.
Instead, AFC played against Shabana and arch rivals Gor Mahia, both matches ending 1-1.
In the friendly against Ramassa which ended 3-3, AFC Leopards fielded some of the players who most recently retired, and the team was skippered by Charles Okwemba.
Among the players who also featured included goalkeeper Wycliffe Kasaya, Oscar Kadenge, current team manager Bernard Mang'oli, former skipper Augustine Etemesi, Noah Abich, Mike Khamati, James Orundu, Barnabas Tiema among others.
In a game played in four periods of 25 minutes each, Ramassa were the first to score through Ruben Romero who dribbled his way into the box from the left and shot into the roof of the net beating keeper Lucas Indeche.
Two minutes into the second period, Khamati rolled back the years with a brilliant shot from the edge of the box to draw his side level, before Okwemba headed in beautifully from a Mang'oli freekick.
James Situma would score the third goal in the third period of the game with another low piledriver, but Ramassa scored twice late on to draw level.
In AFC's senior team friendly match against Gor Mahia, their former player Austin Odhiambo scored the leveler for K'Ogalo with a low shot from inside the box, cancelling out Brian Yakhama's opener for Ingwe.
