The newly refurbished Amahoro Stadium hosted the first Rwandan derby in Saturday, June 15 as APR and Rayon Sports settled for a goalless draw in a what served as a testing game.
The main significance of the game was to test the facilities at the stadium, how to control crowd among other aspects after the edifice was approved by the world football governing body, FIFA, to host international football events.
The Veterans Club World Championship, scheduled for September 1-10, is among first football events set to take place at the stadium
Amahoro Stadium will be officially inaugurated on July 4 and Saturday’s match saw different parts of the facility put under scrutiny to test their efficiency.
Times Sport brings to you things that you might have missed during the testing match at the ultramodern Amahoro Stadium.
Unmatched atmosphere
This is perhaps the biggest and loudest crowd I have ever witnessed since I started to watch APR vs Rayon Sports derby. The 45,000 capacity Amahoro Stadium was filled to the brim just 15 minutes into the game. It was a nice spectacle as fans from both sides lauded their teams.
Such an atmosphere could serve as a big advantage for home teams and a nightmare for the visiting opponents.
Managing the fans
Big games are normally marred by crowd violence and disturbances before, within the game and after the game. There was nothing of that sort in the APR vs Rayon Sports game as there were steward inside the stadium who were monitoring the fans as the game was going on.
Also there were stewards outside who helped to maintain peace and order before the game.
The stadium management, however, has a big task to ensure that spectators next time enter in order after it emerged that some people jumped the fences to force entrance.
This caused disorder among fans leaving some in critical conditions. The Ministry of Sports confirmed that one fan is still being treated while others were discharged.
ALSO READ: APR-Rayon settle for draw in first match at renovated Amahoro stadium
Access control
This was the first time a game was played at Amahoro Stadium and there were specially designated people at various first entry points who directed people to respective gates that they were supposed to use while entering the stadium.
The police also checked each of the spectators before again passing through the metal detector machine.
Prior to entering the designated area, there were people who also check ticket. All these aspects meet international standards.
Surveillance and digital security systems
Every part of Amahoro Stadium has security cameras which serve in surveillance of theft or any other bad things. From the stairs to the lift, where spectators, journalists and others sit, there are security cameras all over.
The euphoria
A couple of players from both teams are part of the triumphant Amavubi team which beat Lesotho 1-0 to retain top spot of Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Most fans came to the stadium to see them.
Again, both teams have new players in their fold. Rayon had Olivier Niyonzima and Congolese Yannick Yenga among others while APR had Frodouard Mugiraneza, Gilbert Byiringiro, and Olivier Dushimimana among new faces at the club. There were a plenty of reasons that attracted fans to attend the match.