Mbungo relishes ‘challenging’ AFC Leopards’ top job

Rwandan Andre Casa Mbungo has been appointed as head coach of Kenya Premier League giants AFC Leopards in a one-and-a-half-year deal, the club announced on Tuesday. “I am thrilled – and challenged at the same time – to be associated with such a big team,” Mbungo told Times Sport on Monday without divulging further details about his contract. The former AS Kigali, Police and SC Kiyovu coach replaced Serbian Marko Vasiljevic, who parted company with the club on Monday after two months in charge. Vasiljevic, 30, resigned after a humiliating 4-1 defeat against Bandari on Sunday, but his job was always in balance following a series of poor results and had earlier been summoned after the 1-0 defeat to KCB and was served with a warning. After ten match rounds this term, AFC Leopards have won only two matches and recorded four draws. Mbungo’s track record includes winning two Peace Cup titles with two different clubs, first with AS Kigali in 2013, before repeating the feat with Police in 2015. The 51-year-old, who also previously had a brief stint as Amavubi head coach, had been without a club since October last year when he resigned at SC Kiyovu allegedly for going five months without pay. Who’s Casa Mbungo? Born on January 18, 1968 in Kampala, Uganda, Casa Mbungo is a husband and a father. He is married to Jackeline Umurungi with whom they have three children – two girls and a boy. The highly rated CAF licensed coach holds a high school level certificate in construction from Bujumbura, Burundi and has attended various professional courses in Madagascar (interior design) and France (bridge construction) among others. During his playing career, coach, – regarded as one of the best in Rwanda, – featured for three different sides in Burundi Premier League in a spell of only ten years before calling it quits in 1994 – at the age of 26 – to venture into coaching. The former goalkeeper played for Dynamo FC from 1984 to 1990, Atletico (1990-1992) before switching to Flamingo, where he played his final two years and helped the team earn promotion to topflight league from the second tier. He was also a founding member of the club. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Mbungo relishes ‘challenging’ AFC Leopards’ top job