A born footballer, Rwanda international striker and Police FC captain Jacques Tuyisenge is one of the most popular faces on the local scene.

Mid this week, Saturday Sport interviewed the 23-year old striker after his side lost 1-0 to Gicumbi FC on matchday 14 of the National Football League.

By the time you read the last line of this story, you will have known how far Tuyisenge has  come from and where he is aiming to be by the end of his career.

Early days

Tuyisenge’s relationship with football dates way back as a kid growing up in his neighborhood in Gisenyi (currently Rubavu District). Since childhood, he says he has never tried any other sport and has no regret whatsoever.

"For me it has always been football all my life, everywhere I have been, most people know me from football. I have never tried anything different,” says Tuyisenge.

Tuyisenge started playing football from a local academy in Rubavu District, run by coach Vigoureux Mungo. He featured for all his former schools’ teams since primary.

From 2004, Tuyisenge joined Etincelles FC junior team and three years later he was promoted to the first team, where he played for three seasons in the national football league.

"Etincelles is my parent team, I enjoyed my six-year (three in junior and three in the senior team) spell at the club and I’m thankful to everyone who helped me realise my dream of playing for my country,” the Amavubi forward told Saturday Sport.

League career

Tuyisenge is now playing his ninth season in the topflight division since making his debut for Etincelles in 2006, and has featured for three different sides, namely;  Etincelles FC, SC Kiyovu and his current side Police FC.

During his first three years in national league with Etincelles, the talented front-man was always involved in struggles at the wrong end of the table as his team battled with relegation.

"Although Etincelles gave me my first opportunity to play in the topflight league, I have no big memories from there. We always used to struggle with staying in the league, luckily we never lost that battle,” Tuyisenge recalls.

From September 2009 to July 2012, Tuyisenge was with Kiyovu but was not able to win anything with the Nyamirambo-based outfit for three seasons before moving to Police FC at the end of the 2011/2012 season.

Time in Police FC

The soft-spoken footballer says he is enjoying his football with last year’s Peace Cup finalists, more than even before in his career and believes, under coach Andre Cassa Mbungo, he could sooner rather than later be able to achieve his dream of winning a major trophy—either league or Peace Cup.

He stated, "I am happy at Police FC, I have all it takes for my football to develop and become a better player for both my club and country.”

Since joining the law enforcers side in 2012, Tuyisenge helped the club finish second in the league during the 2012/2013 season, and reached the final of the Peace Cup of 2013/2014 season. Last season, he helped Rwanda national police-owned club finish third in the Cecafa Kagame Cup in Kigali, a tournament that was won by El Merreikh after beating Rwanda’s APR FC 1-0 in the final at Amahoro stadium.

Currently, Police are third in the 14-team league table behind APR and AS Kigali. They have 24 points from 14 matches with six wins, six draws and two defeats.

Future plans and ambitions

The highly-rated Tuyisenge still has a contract with Police FC until 2017 and says he’s willing and happy to honour it.

"I still have a contract with Police and surely I will honor it and possibly extend it when the right time comes.”

However, he is also keen and open to a professional career opportunity in Europe or North Africa as long as the deal passed through the right channels.

So far, he has had one chance for a professional deal with Alexandria Union of Egypt. But the chance came and went due to visa delays.

He said, "The reason why I work very hard is to see my professional career dream come true, no matter how long I may wait, I believe a chance will knock on my door. I missed the Alexendria Union Club opportunity (in January) but hopefully there is a better one in the  future.”

National teams

Since 2007, Tuyisenge has featured for national teams at different levels and is still proudly serving the country in the senior Amavubi Stars. His last cap came in the 0-0 draw against Morocco in November last year.

Between 2007 and 2008, he featured in the U-17 national and, from 2009 to late 2011, he played in the U-20 Junior Wasps. He made his senior national team debut in late 2010.

Although Amavubi were eliminated in group stages with no single point, one of his memorable moments with the national team, is the 2011 CHAN Championships staged in Sudan. Tunisia won the tournament.

What others say about him

Mwemere Ngirinshuti, a Police FC left-back, describes his captain as a motivation pillar, "He is a hard working player, a determined servant of the club. He is also a good motivator for his teammates and leads us well as captain.”

Meanwhile his coach, Cassa Mbungo describes his captain as "humble and always eager to learn each day in training, he also has a good understanding of what the team wants to achieve. He is the type of player I need in a captain.”

Who is Tuyisenge?

Born on September 22, 1991 in Rubavu District, Western Province to Samuel Musirikare and Djamila Françoise, Tuyisenge is the third born from a family of four children in two boys and two girls.

Tuyisenge attended Gacumba II primary school, went to APEFE Rubavu where he only did senior one before switching to College Inyemeramiho, also based in Rubavu for the rest of O’level.

In 2006, he joined ESTEG Gisenyi pursuing Electronics in A’level but failed secondary leaving national examinations in 2008 before moving to Nyarugenge-based Solidarity Academy the next year where he earned his secondary school completion certificate from.

He plans to enroll to university soon.

Though a player, Tuyisenge is also a big football fan and supports Manchester United in the  English Premier League and his own Police FC side on the local scene.