In Rwandan football like in most other countries, individuals with money largely influence the way local clubs must be run and led. They are, most of the time, involved in major decisions concerning the clubs’ business, especially in club transfers and sacking of players and coaches.
Clubs that depend on millionaires can only survive when they are committed to sponsoring them. Hence, the majority of decisions can be influenced by their power of wealth just like Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic does.
Times Sport looks at the top five ‘Abramovics’ in Rwandan football.
Kakooza Nkuriza Charless (KNC)
Building a club from scratch to making it one of the most popular clubs in the country in a few years is an incredible achievement that KNC will always be remembered for.
The businessman might have built a business-oriented club, but his passion and the entertainment he brings to the game of football has inspired many that football is more than just a game.
However, his demand for value for money makes him get impatient when either a player or the coach are not performing well.
When, for instance, he hired Andre Cassa Mbungo in July last year, KNC saw the tactician as the man to lead Gasogi to challenge for trophies.
However, KNC fired him just three months later before the Rwanda Premier League even started after he was not impressed by Mbungo’s results during the pre-season games.
Placide Tuyishime alias Trump
A millionaire who runs a beer factory in Musanze District, Tuyishime’s love for football prompted him to cash in on home club Musanze FC to reduce the club’s dependency on the district.
He is popularly known as Trump after former US President Donald ‘Trump’,cos of his abrasive actions. He made headlines last month following his surprise decision to sack club head coach Innocent Seninga in the 63rd minute of a football match in which his club, Musanze FC was trailing 4-1 to Gasogi United.
Although the decision was criticised by the coaches’ Association as ‘disrespectful’ and ‘reckless’, Tuyishime stood by it and agreed to compensate the former coach saying he didn’t want a coach who causes alot of heartbreaks to the club’s fans.
Juvenal Mvukiyehe
His sudden sacking of Amavubi legend Olivier Karekezi after coaching just one league game since the top flight league resumed on May 1, surprised many.
Mvukiyehe was regarded as the man to save a then cash-strapped Kiyovu SC ever since he expressed his interest in leading the club. His wealth convinced the majority of the club members to vote for him shortly after he pledged to buy a team bus.
Upon being elected, Mvukiyehe brought Karekezi to build a long-term project at the Mumena-based club and brought in some big players in the squad like club captain Yves Kimenyi and Babua Samson among others.
However, it took Mvukiyehe four games to show Karekezi the exit door after Kiyovu SC managed only one win.
Before the league started, the club leadership, supporters and even football pundits tipped Kiyovu SC among the league title favorites given the investment Mvukiyehe and his committee put in the transfer window. Instead, they are in the relegation battle.
Olivier Nizeyimana
Mukura Victory Sport has no clue on how to start a new life without millionaire Olivier Nizeyimana, after he decided to resign from the club leadership in January last year after nine years in the office.
His transport agency Volcano Express was the main sponsor and the club feared that his resignation would prompt him to withdraw sponsorship from the club.
A sigh of relief, however, came back when he accepted to lead the club for another four-year term after elections held in November last year.
The lifelong Mukura fan doesn’t tolerate poor performances at the club either and his re-election was followed by the sacking of French tactician Djilali Bahloul in January after just two months at the club.
Mukura VC has struggled for form this season after a series of poor performances and it won’t be surprising if Nizeyimana fires the club’s new head coach Rodolfo Zapata.
Major. Gen Mubarak Muganga
APR FC may be an army side but the decisions taken by its leadership show that only the best who understand the club philosophy, belong to the club.
The decision to play only homegrown players was one of the toughest decisions the club has ever made and club president Maj Gen Mubarak Muganga vowed on several occasions that APR FC won’t back down on the policy.
Muganga was vice-president of APR FC for 15 years until he was named club president in January this year.
His long-term service at the club gives him the power to take tough decisions, notably the day the club released 16 players at once in 2019 following poor performances during the 2018-2019 campaign.