It would be a very huge mistake to talk about sports in Rwanda and you forget mentioning volleyball, which is one of the country’s leading sports disciplines, both performance-wise and nurturing home-grown talents.

Over the years, volleyball has produced generations of very good players for the country, and it continues to hold its place in Rwanda’s top three or four sports disciplines. 

Just in the last 18 months, several youngsters including; Nelson Murangwa (Denmark), Ivan Mahoro (Russia) and Fred Musoni (Finland) have expanded their horizons and moved to Europe, something that should benefit the national team.

In this issue, Saturday Sport profiles Yves Mutabazi, one of the most promising volleyball talents in the country.

Who is Mutabazi?

Born on November 26, 1994 in Rwamagana District, Eastern Province, Mutabazi is the second born in a family of three—two girls and one boy. His father, Jerome Mutabazi, was killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and he and his siblings were raised by their mother, Marie Grace Aminah.

Mutabazi attended Kadasumbwa primary school in Rwamagana and went to GSO Butare for O’Level before moving to APACE Kabusunzu in Nyakabanda, a City of Kigali suburb for his A’Level studies which he completed last year. 

Before picking interest in volleyball, Mutabazi used to play football, and just like any kid, his dream was to become a professional footballer. 

However, thanks to Dominique Ntawangundi, the current head coach of league defending champions UNIK (formerly INATEK), who in 2008, noticed the potential in him to turn into a top volleyball player, Mutabazi concentrated on volleyball.

"I owe a lot to coach Ntawangundi, who advised me to drop football and take up volleyball. He took me from my comfort zone to a game that I knew so little about. Thanks to him, I have learned and grown into the player, that I am today.”

Early days

It all started in 2009 when Mutabazi went to Huye-based GSO Butare, a school which is a parent club to so many local top volleyball players. It took him quite a while to adapt until 2012 when he got his national league license. 

In the same year, he was part of the school team that won the national inter-schools championships as well as finishing as first runners-up in the regional post-primary FESSSA Games staged in Bujumbura, Burundi.

Life and career at APR

After finishing his Ordinary level studies at GSOB in 2012, the sensational left-attacker parted ways with the school team to sign for Sammy Mulinge’s APR volleyball club, where he has been ever since. 

He says he is very happy at the military side, and is open to renew his contract when the current one expires at the end of the season.

In his maiden season with APR, the team finished second in both the league and Genocide memorial tournament, behind former National University of Rwanda but managed to win the Carre d’As tournament, a post-league competition that pits the top four teams in the league.

In the 2014 season, the 21-year old helped the black and white outfit to win the national league title, his first piece of silverware and only league title so far in his career. Last year, they finished third behind UNIK and Rayon Sports.

Last November, the youngster also had professional trials with Japanese first division side Weisse Adler for six months but failed to earn a contract; nonetheless, he says it was a great learning experience.

National teams

Mutabazi was part of the U21 team that qualified for the 2013 FIVB World Championships in Turkey, where Rwanda finished 12th out of 20 countries. In African qualifiers held in Tunisia, the team had finished third.

"I had such a good start in the national team, receiving my first cap and qualifying for the World Cup was so incredible,” Mutabazi says of his earlier days in the national team.

In April last year, he received his first call up to the senior national team, becoming one of the youngest players to ever feature for the senior team. He was part of the team that won CAVB Zone V Championships staged in Kigali, although he was mostly an unused substitute.

Two months later, he also made it to the final 12-man team that competed at the 2015 African Championships in Egypt where Rwanda finished sixth out of nine countries. Hosts Egypt won the tournament after overcoming Tunisia in the final.

In September, the former GSOB attacker again made the cut, traveling with the team that defied odds to finish fourth at the 11th All Africa Games in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

Paul Bitok’s team was in the ‘group of death’ that included the 2011 champions Cameroon, 2011 finalists Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde and Seychelles.

Future

"As a sportsman, my wish is to keep developing, improve and become a better player. I am enjoying my career at APR but if I get an opportunity, which I believe I will, to play in a more competitive league, I would grab it with both hands,” Mutabazi says of his ambition to go professional.

Mutabazi’s current contract with APR runs out in September, but he says he is committed to extend his stay although the lure to play for a professional club would be so hard to turn down, if the opportunity presented itself.

Note of thanks

He says, "So many people has helped me to become the player I am today, but I must single out Ntawangundi, Mulinge, national team coach Paul Bitok and my family.”

editorial@newtimes.co.rw