Amavubi have all it needs to win, they should pull out the stops

Rwanda national football team, Amavubi (Wasps) has another opportunity of putting their sting back in the game as they face Ivory Coast tomorrow seeking to qualify for the African Cup of Nations finals next year.

They were unlucky in their opening game of the first match against the Central African Republic in June when they conceded narrowly in the dying minutes of the game going down 2-1.

Despite their loss in the first match, they showed that they were no pushovers, even against the best in the game on the continent, Ivory Coast is one of them.

The last time Rwanda qualified for the finals was also its first time; in 2004, the road has not been smooth since as the national team has been trying to build from the ground up. Today’s crop of players is a result of the re-engineering, products of the few football academies that have sprung up.

That has made a significant difference; Rayon Sports last month made history when it became the first Rwandan team in history to make it to the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup. Amavubi could build on the current confidence floating around football to turn the tables.

On top of that, they have the support of the whole country behind them and they have many more games to go. Their first game was on away soil and they performed remarkably well despite the loss. This time they have the advantage of playing on home ground and they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.