Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) president Charles Haba has been chosen to represent 15 African affiliate countries on the Africa Cricket Association (ACA) as well as the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Haba, who is currently attending the ICC annual conference in Barbados, has highlighted the need to increase funding to affiliate countries which receive between $15,000 - $500,000 as compared to associate nations that get between $800,000 - $4m depending on their performance on and off the field – national teams, governance, development, women, administration and facilities to mention but a few. Rwanda received $100,000 for the year 2015, up from $20,000 last year.

"We need more funding and more games with highly ranked teams so that we can improve from the level we are at right now. Our [Rwanda] game is on the rise and we have recently beaten the likes of Tanzania and competed strongly against Uganda and Botswana. In general, African cricket is being taken seriously by the ICC,” explained Haba in an exclusive interview with Times Sport.

Rwanda, which is in Division 1 Africa in the girls’ U-19 category, in Division 2 in the boys’ U-19 grouping and in Division 3 in the men’s senior category, is among the 14 affiliate countries on the African continent including Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, St Helena and Swaziland.

In total, there are 57 affiliate cricket nations across the world, 38 associate and 10 full members of the ICC including Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Haba is also keen on the recognition of East African tournaments like the Kwibuka women’s Twenty20 tournament that is organized to commemorate the people who were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. 

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