With Rwanda not appearing at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament, some Rwandans have pledged to support the Uganda Cranes, the only East African nation in Gabon.

"We are supporting our neighbours Uganda because they are the only country representing the East African Community. We hope that they can go through and qualify to the knockout stage,” said Jean Baptiste Karenzi, a resident of Kicukiro and an ardent Amavubi fan.

Jean Pierre Habineza, who works for this publication in the distribution department, also pointed out that he can’t wait to watch the Cranes get into action in their first match against Ghana, in Group D, on Tuesday (today).

He said, "Since my country is not in Gabon, I have to support Uganda, of course I would have loved to see Amavubi in Gabon but since we did not qualify, we have to support our neighbours. It is not a far-fetched idea for Rwandans to wish well Uganda Cranes in Gabon.”

The Black Stars have not beaten the Cranes in the last four years, while the Cranes’ last appearance at the tournament was in 1978 when they lost in the final to hosts Ghana.

The Cranes and the Black Stars met two years ago in Kumasi during the Brazil World Cup qualifiers and the match ended in a 1-all draw. In October 2014, both teams met again at the Tamale Sports Stadium in the first match of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the game ended 0-0. Last year, another Ghana-Uganda match was played in Tamale and ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Uganda will need an A-game in every match to avoid an early flight back home. Uganda will face Mali on Saturday in their second fixture before winding up their group campaign against record seven-time winners Egypt on January 25.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw