Rwandan football has a huge number of fans but still lacks meaningful support to steer it to the next level.

This is the view of  SC Kiyovu coach Jean Gilbert Kagabo Kanyankore, commonly known as Yaoundé in the football circles.

Saturday Sport sat down for an exclusive interview with the oldest and most experienced coach in Rwandan football and he explained a wide range of issues including why he left the country under a dark cloud a couple of years ago.

Kanyankore says all football people should have spirit of fair play, change their mindsets and understand that it is normal for any team to lose a match.

 "It is not strange if a team does not get the success it wants instantly, there is no need to sack a coach because he has not won a trophy after just one or two years in charge, attaining success takes time and patience,” he said on Tuesday.

Born in former Butare district, Southern Province in 1954, Kanyankore and his family fled to Burundi as refugees in the early 1960s. In Burundi, he grew up in a sports environment, which inspired him to take up football from a young age and says he played football in various teams.

He did Economics at St Albert secondary school before pursuing Physical Education and Sport from Institut Pédagogique National de Kinshasa. In 2004, he got a higher diploma in coaching from Nigeria.

Football man

Kanyankore admits football runs in his blood that is why he has dedicated all his life to it.

For the last 27 years, Kanyankore has worked for different teams both in Burundi and Rwanda, including Vital’O where he also spent time as a player in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Les Citadins (current AS Kigali), Rayon Sports and the national teams of both countries.

He was part of the Rwanda B team that stunned Kenyan 3-1 in the final to win the 1999 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in Kigali—ironically, it remains the only trophy that Rwanda has won to date.

Asked why it has taken so long for the national team to win another trophy, the 60-year-old said, "Rwandan football lacks the necessary support to sustain it at a high level. Our football has a huge fan base but no support to make it competitive, and to me that is the biggest problem.”

Kanyankore has over 15 years of experience in teaching sports in higher institutions of learning in DR Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.

Returning to Rwanda

Married with three children, Kanyankore is Rwandan by nationality, first came to Rwanda in 1999 when he came to train Rwanda B and after winning the Cecafa title he went back, and returned two years later to take over at Les Citadins (which changed name to AS Kigali)—he was there for four years and won the Peace Cup in 2002.

In 2006, he signed a contract with Rayon Sports but the deal did not work out nor did it last long because he was ‘forced’ to leave the country on accusations that he ‘betrayed’ APR team by hanging out with Vital’O delegation, who were in the country to play against the army side.

Throughout the interview, Kanyankore didn’t want to give away too much detail regarding that incident which gripped the local football circles when it was first mentioned back then.

"I don’t want to talk about it but all I can say is that I was wrongly accused and I told so to the people who were accusing me, I can never betray my country. Nonetheless, I left the county and went back to Burundi,” he recalled.

He however, added, "But life has its own ways, I left my country (Rwanda) under a dark cloud but my spirit always told me I would return one day because my conscience was very clear.”

"I don’t coach by accident but because I know what I am doing, so I can survive anywhere I go,” the former Rayon Sports coach explained.

Signing for Kiyovu SC

Recently, Kanyankore signed a one year contract to coach Kiyovu until the end of the current season. It was the first he had returned to Rwanda since 2006.

The veteran coach, who speaks six languages among them Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, French, Kiswahili and Lingala, says Rwandan football has taken one or two steps forward compared to the 1990s, but there is need to not keep replacing the aging players and coaches because the two complement  each other in pursuit for success.

 "Although I have a one year contract in Kiyovu, I did not sign to do miracles because I found the team in not so good situation on and off the field,” says Kanyankore.

"But the team has reached at good level in just six months since I came in and there is hope that, if things get better off the field, things on the field will definitely improve as well but it needs time.

Kanyankore says he is most happy when he sees his players put into practice what he teaches them on the training ground.

"I am always the happiest person when my players follow my advice during a match, working very hard to win,” he reveals.

He added, "But I hate losing, it makes me very angry but it’s normal.”

Retirement plans

On whether he plans to retire or resign, Kanyankore says he has no plan to do both, because football is the only one that gives him motivation and inspiration in the world.

"I never plan to resign or even retire from football, maybe I will change a job position but I will never walk away from my career. I do not see my life out of football anytime soon. It is my inspiration,” says the former Vital’O coach.

He says his immediate plan is to build a stronger team at Kiyovu that can compete for trophies against the likes of APR, Rayon Sports and Police. For this season, finishing in third position would be a big achievement. Last season, Kiyovu finished fifth.

He pointed out the level of Rwandan players is still low, and there is a need to improve if the national team is to be more competitive.  "In five years, I think our football will be at higher level because the foundation is being laid,” he said.

Kanyankore noted that not trusting coaches is another stumbling block to the limited success of Rwandan teams. "Hiring and sacking coaches every now and again does not and will not help our football to improve. There is need for clubs to observe patience; it takes time to build a consistent winning team