Category: Sports

East African Community Military sports and culture tournament was officially launched August 16 at Rwagasore Stadium in Bujumbura.

The event officially opened by Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza was attended by a delegation of 500 players from the five community member states Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

In attendance also were Dr. Richard Sezibera, the East African Community Secretary General along with the Army chiefs of staff from each of the participating countries and cabinet ministers from Burundi.

The tournament is taking place in celebration of 10 years of the EAC Defence sector cooperation under the theme “One People, One Destiny: Yet another Decade for Deeper EAC Defence Cooperation”.

According to ministry of defence website, Rwanda is represented by a delegation of 106 male and female players under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Charles Kayonga.

The games to be played will involve five disciplines; basketball (men), netball (women), handball (men and women), football (men) and cross country marathon (men and women) of which Rwanda will take part in all.

“The military are not only trained to handle the trigger but to participate actively in sports and culture, to contribute to the construction of their country, and rehabilitation of the society and the environment,” President Nkurunziza noted in his commencement speech.

“With the rising threat of international terrorism and creeping instability in a multiplicity of hotspots around the world, the issues of defence and security have assumed a greater importance and significance in the agenda of nations and indeed the agenda of groupings of nations such as ours,” Amb. Sezibera said in his opening discourse.

The East African Military games are an annual event that have been taking place since 2005 and most recently took place in Rwanda in 2009.

The games kicked off with a football match between Tanzania and Burundi in which Burundi beat their Tanzanian counterparts 4 goals to nil. The games are scheduled to end on August 27.

By: marcel Nzabamwita

AZAM FC yesterday whipped Rayon Sports 3-1. Clad in green jerseys and black shorts,the Azams dominated the game aganist an all blue and white Rayon sports team in a game at Amahoro stadium last evening.

The game started with an over confident Sekamana Leandre of Rayon Sports making an attempt to have the first goal on the 8th minute that was narrowly pushed over the bar by Obren Cuckovic guarding the Azam goal.

Rayon Sports maintained an aggressive offencive although Abdul Junior failed to reap returns from the beautiful passes sloted to him. Team captain Sina Jerome made an attempt on target that was gracefully captured by the Serb Azam goalkeeper.

The Azams soon reclaimed domination of the game with several goal attempts that were all fruitless until the 43rd minute when Waihab Yahya took advantage of a disorganized Rayon Sports defense and scored an easy goal putting the greens in the lead for the first half.

Rayon Sports came from half time break with technical changes where Eric Nsengimana was substituted out for Abed Makasi while Abdul Junior was also substituted out.

The second half brought out a vulnerable Rayon sports with a weak core and disoriented game plan. This led to a second goal by Azam player Mrisho Ngassa in the 53rd minute after effortlessly dribbling through the defense and stinging a strong shot that rocked the net.

What Azam FC did not have in stature of the players they made up for in fluid passes and flawless communication.

Mwadim Ally substituted in for Ramadhan Chomroso on the 67th minute and only 2 minutes later scored the third goal that definitively established Azam’s superiority over Rayon Sports.

Rayon Sports made it’s feeble attempt to rise from the ashes on the 72nd minute when Abedi Makasi maneuvered through Azam’s defense wall scoring Rayon’s single goal bringing disappointed fans back to life with shouts of jubilation.

This is Rayon Sports’ first game as the new team in preparation for the upcoming season and the poor communication seen on the pitch was simply because of the lack of familiarity with each other that the team hopes to build as the season goes on.

Jean Marie Ntagwabira (Rayon Sport Coach) said, “There are many things the team was capable of during training that they failed to do during the match and so I am pleased that I have been able to practice with the new team in a real game.”

“I have quickly noted the capable players that I will sign in the team. As you saw most of the team was made of foreigners but as I said I won’t exceed 6 foreign players and so I now have an idea of who to pick,” he added.

“As you have seen my team is not yet playing as a team and they still need a lot of training. I can’t blame them for it and Iam also looking forward to the mini-tournament that will take place in Gisenyi this weekend which will help me evaluate the team and decide who to sign and who to let go,” he disclosed to the press.

By: Marcel Nzabamwita

While the buzz of player transfers that have allegedly taken place continues to fill the media, FERWAFA has taken a surprise move and informed all the First Division teams that no player is officially transferred yet.

In an announcement posted on the FERWAFA website the secretary general’s office has warned all teams, “After reading and hearing what has been said, that some teams have signed different players, the federation would like to inform the public that this is not true. We would like to remind all First division teams that there are 22 days left for all transfers to be complete” the announcement continues.”

FERWAFA also declares that no foreign player will be officially transferred without showing the ITC card accredited by FIFA.

This announcement comes after several teams have publicly announced transfers of players. FERWAFA doesn’t recognize transfers until the bureaucratic procedures have been sufficiently complied to.

Every team is only allowed a maximum of 5 foreign players on the line-up for a game. The official transfer window closes on September 8, 2011.

APR FC have confirmed news of hiring of René Hiddink as the new assistant coach to Ernie Brandts.

“It is confirmed that we are signing René Hiddink to be assistant coach. He arrived on Friday and will be serving a two-year renewable contract,” Adolph Kalisa, the secretary general of APR FC told Igihe.com.

“Our objective as a team is to win the Rwandan championship, the regional CECAFA and to reach in CAF. It’s been a long time since we reached the CAF semi-finals and we want to bring back that glory and progress as far as possible,” he added.

However, Kalisa declined to comment on the salary of the new assistant coach saying it’s not necessary to make it public.

René Hiddink was previously the assistant coach of FC Dordrecht, a professional football team in Netherlands. He has worked before with Ernie Brandts at Da Graafschap, also in Netherlands.

He is a brother to the renowned coach Guus Hiddink who was a coach in Chelsea FC, the South Korean national team and several other teams.

APR FC started it’s training this morning, in preparation for the upcoming preseason games which start on 7th September and the PRIMUS cup which starts on 17th September.

By: Marcel Nzabamwita

As the football season is about to start, more teams are showing fruits of the preparation as the training has began. Igihe.com visited La Jeunesse FC at their training grounds at Mumena Stadium and talked to team officials on their preparations.

“In the current transfer season we have signed 3 new players, Mazimpaka André from Police FC, Habimana Hassan aka ‘Papy from Mukura FC and Ndunguzi Faraj from Marines FC . We have also played friendly games in preparation. So far we played against Nyanza FC in which we lost 2-1.”

“On Thursday we have a game against the Amavubi national team which is also in training and a game against Mukura FC towards the end of the week” said Ruremesha Emmanuel, La Jeunesse FC’s head coach.

Igihe.com also talked to Habyarimana Kassim who is a midfielder in La Jeunesse who said: “This year plans are to perform better and finish much higher than last year.

We plan to take the trophy or at least second position at the end of the league that would qualify us for international tournaments” said the playmaker.

The pre-season games will start on September 7 while the actual season is scheduled to start on September 17.

By: Marcel Nzabamwita

Rwanda Footbal referees and their instructors have completed one week of training in preparation for the upcoming football season.

The training was a partnership between FIFA and CAF

Raoul Gisanura, the FERWAFA vice president, officiated in the closing of the training. In his remarks, he highlighted the role of referees in upholding the quality of football in Rwanda and encouraged them to extend their roles across the continent.

A total of 26 referees and assistants passed the test on Saturday whose focus was on Technique, Interpretation and Psychology of the game.
They were led by a team of 20 instructors who helped them in keeping up to date with the current rules and technicalities of the game.

FIFA’s Alain Mungwenge at the launch of training said, “this training program should help improving quality of football as a game. This is a role of referees teaching players what to do and what to avoid during the game.”

Richard Peers, 27, a coach at Hale United JFC and director of charity Orphan UK, led a group of Conservative volunteers on a month-long trip in the country as part of the party’s Project Umubano created by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2007.

The project works with communities in Sierra Leone and Rwanda. While in Rwanda, the team held training sessions with over 500 children and worked with football coaches.

They also handed over 2,000 football kits, from the charity Afrikit donated by several football clubs including Manchester City and Stockport County.

Richard, a former Trafford Council candidate, said he had been inspired by the confidence, happiness and skill of Rwanda’s young footballers.

He also said that there’s a serious lack of equipment and that the soccer talents here could be going to waste.

“Many of the children play football barefooted and often with plastic bags wrapped in rubber bands as balls, yet most possess skills worth of British Academy players.

“We hope that through working closely with the Rwandan children, we have empowered them to gain an increased confidence not only to express their talents in sport but also to work hard to help Rwanda continue to grow as a model of African development.” Richard pointed out.

By: Marcel Nzabamwita

Exactly one year ago the media fraternity, lovers of sports and the country as a whole lost one of their own and an asset to the community: Shyaka Claver.

In a sudden death due to heart complications, one of the founders of sports journalism in Rwanda was gone but the impact of his work will live on forever.

Shyaka Claver was born in Uganda on the 23rd October 1978. He started presenting the sports show at Radio 10 in late 2004 but also did more as he presented an Education show.

His memorial service today began with a church service which was held in the morning and was succeeded by a visit to the grave at 1:30 pm. The memorial service was then completed at the national stadium with two friendly matches.

Shyaka Claver was involved in mentoring young children playing soccer around the country and was known for his attendance at training grounds for children to take a look at the developing talent.

It is in this light that the first memorial game was between two teams that he had mentored: “11 rapide” and Esperance. The game ended with Esperance winning 4 goals to 2 of “11 rapide”.

An excitement filled friendly-match followed between sports journalists and ULK students who studied with Shyaka Claver before his demise. The game ended on a happy note with the ULK students scoring 6 goals to 2 goals of the journalists.

Shyaka Claver will be remembered for his work in founding and promoting sports journalism and professionalism in Rwanda that was nonexistent barely 7 years ago. He was also a husband to Peace Batamuliza Shyaka, a father to two beautiful daughters, a friend to many and an impact on the whole journalism arena in Rwanda.

By: Marcel Nzabamwita

Having been elevated to first division, Nyanza FC has also started preparations for the upcoming PRIMUS cup by signing new players.

In an interview with radio Contact FM, Nshimiyimana Maurice aka Maso, the assistant coach of Nyanza FC said, “we started our training early because we are a young team, with young players who still need to develop their skills.”

“We have mainly retained the players that we started with and purchased a few players from other teams who didn’t pose great difficulty in attaining them since we are still low on funds and unable to obtain expensive players.”

“So far we have 12 players who are definitely playing for us in the coming season. We have managed to sign Theoneste while Rucogoza Aimable ‘Mambo’ former captain of Rayon Sports is still in negotiations,” the deputy coach revealed.

Nyanza FC is joining the star-studded first division to try its luck in developing its young talent. The season begins on September 17

By: Marcel Nzabamwita

As the beginning of the football season nears, Jean Marie Ntagwabira, Rayon Sports Coach says the season break has been characterized by transfers and internal changes within teams.

He, however, revealed that his squad is not yet complete with some of the transfers which are still under negotiations.

“The players who are arriving in Kigali today include Fuadi Ndayisenga, Saidi Abed, Sina Jerome and Tommy Okello.

“These are the four players that I am sure are coming today and will be in training tomorrow morning.” Ntagwabira told Igihe.com during their training at ETO Kicukiro which was attended by several supporters.

The manager further disclosed the club is planning to bring in more two players from Nigeria and two from Uganda.

“The players from Uganda are Tommy Okello who was playing for Thika United and Osama Farouk who was playing for Uganda Revenue Authority FC.

“ I have been eyeing these players because they are free agents and haven’t signed any contracts with their teams. If I find them to be good players we shall sign them” he added.

These, however, not the only players that are expected to sign for Rayon Sports. Karim Makenzi is currently training with the team but hasn’t signed a contract yet because his paperwork is still being processed by FERWAFA, the football governing body.

“Cedric Hamisi and Bokota Labama are expected to arrive on Tuesday. Negotiations with them are already complete and they are not coming to be tested.

“ The players coming to be tested are the two Nigerians, Tommy Okello, Osama Farouk and also one Burundian player who is currently in training” said the head coach.

FERWAFA requires every team to have a maximum of 5 foreign players in the line-up and Ntagwabira told igihe.com that: “I plan to sign only 6 foreign players. If I happen to see anyone who dazzles me then maybe I could sign 7.”

Rayon Sports have so far signed 2 foreign players, Hussein Mbanze and Juma Mpongo and left with four or five new foreigners.

In preparation for the upcoming season, Rayon sports are planning a friendly match against the Tanzanian club Azam FC which will take place on August 17.
The PRIMUS cup tournament kicks off on September 17.