{"id":54750,"date":"2025-07-03T15:55:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T15:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/apr-fc-at-32-inside-the-making-of-a-club-born-from-the-battlefield-raised-for\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T15:45:31","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T15:45:31","slug":"apr-fc-at-32-inside-the-making-of-a-club-born-from-the-battlefield-raised-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/apr-fc-at-32-inside-the-making-of-a-club-born-from-the-battlefield-raised-for\/","title":{"rendered":"APR FC at 32: Inside the making of a club born from the battlefield, raised for greatness"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the club marks this milestone, IGIHE spoke to Byusa Wilson, widely known as Rudifu, one of the club\u2019s founding members when it was established in Mulindi, Gicumbi District.<\/p>\n

Rudifu shared that the idea of creating the team originated with President Paul Kagame, who at the time was leading the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea came from President Kagame back in 1992. At the time, each battalion had its own team, and we used to play friendly matches\u2014our Byumba team would play against the Nyagatare side, and so on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1993, President Kagame got wind of this and asked, \u2018Why don\u2019t we create a league?\u2019 We continued playing until combat resumed, and we had to pause.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Rudifu, APR FC began with 32 players selected from a pool of 90.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey selected 32 players out of 90. Those chosen became the first APR FC squad. This happened in April 1993.\u201d<\/p>\n

APR FC\u2019s first match was against a team of PSD members who were visiting Mulindi. That same period also saw the launch of the club\u2019s volleyball and basketball sections.<\/p>\n

Among the original members were Uwimana Michael, Lt. Col. Alphonse Muyango, Gen. Mubarakh Muganga, Maj. Gen. Willy Rwagasana, Gen. Jean Bosco Kazura, and others.<\/p>\n

{{Not born in black and white
\n}}<\/p>\n

Interestingly, APR FC didn\u2019t originally don the now-iconic black and white colours. Rudifu recounted how the team\u2019s colours evolved:<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of us had come from Burundi and were fans of Vital\u2019O FC, which wore mauve and white. One day, Katarebe, who was the president of Rwanda FC, attended a meeting with his close friend Kazura.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKazura had played for Inter Star, which wore black and white. That\u2019s how we ended up adopting those colours. But originally, we were mauve and white.\u201d<\/p>\n

{{Entering the league with spirit and purpose
\n}}<\/p>\n

In 1996, APR FC entered the Rwandan Premier League for the first time and won it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had no proper facilities, but what drove us was sheer determination,\u201d Rudifu said. \u201cWe often said, \u2018We came from the bush\u2019\u2014unlike other teams that had better conditions. What gave us the edge was our fighting spirit and the will to prove ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club was also founded with the support of three civilian members from the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi).<\/p>\n

Some of the first notable players to join included Nshimiyimana Eric, Julien Ndagano, and Nkunzingoma Ramadhani.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs players, we received a bonus\u2014what we called a prime\u2014on top of our military salary. The civilians, of course, had their own contracts,\u201d Rudifu explained.<\/p>\n

Now a coach at Intare FC, Rudifu credits APR FC\u2019s continued success to strong leadership, consistent support for players, and a culture of fearlessness grounded in its history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe club\u2019s leadership engages closely with players, and there\u2019s a shared hunger for success. APR FC doesn\u2019t fear any opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the course of its 32-year history, APR FC has built a legacy of unparalleled success in Rwandan football. The club has claimed the Rwandan Premier League title an astonishing 23 times, with victories spanning from 1995 to 2025. These championship seasons include 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and consecutively from 2020 through 2025.<\/p>\n

In addition to its league dominance, APR FC has lifted the Peace Cup 14 times. The club first won the trophy in 1994 and went on to claim it in 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, and most recently in 2025.<\/p>\n

APR FC\u2019s influence has extended beyond national borders as well. The team has triumphed in the CECAFA Kagame Cup on three occasions: 2004, 2007, and 2010, solidifying its reputation as a regional football powerhouse.<\/p>\n

\"Some<\/figure>\n
\"APR<\/figure>\n
\"The<\/figure>\n
\"In<\/figure>\n
\"APR<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

APR FC is one of Rwanda\u2019s most decorated football clubs. In the 32 years since its founding, the team has claimed the national league title an impressive 23 times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000090242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-54750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000090242,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/apr-fc-1993-ca3d6logo.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/apr-fc-1993-ca3d6logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/apr-fc-1993-ca3d6logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/apr-fc-1993-ca3d6logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/apr-fc-1993-ca3d6logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/apr-fc-1993-ca3d6logo.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000090242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54750"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=54750"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=54750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}