Abedi joins second division club

Amavubi Stars striker Saidi Abedi Makasi has joined local second division club Union Sport, the local football federation, Ferwafa has confirmed.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Amavubi Stars striker Saidi Abedi Makasi has joined local second division club Union Sport, the local football federation, Ferwafa has confirmed.

The DR Congo born striker joins Union Sport after his intended move to Moroccan top division club Difaa El Jadidi early this month failed to materialize.

Ferwafa Chief Executive Officer Jules Kalisa confirmed to Times Sport yesterday that the striker was allowed to feature for the second division side because the existing rules don’t allow him to join any of the top flight league clubs at this stage of the season.

"We have allowed him to play for Union Sport in the on-going second division league because only clubs in that division are allowed to recruit players at this stage,” he said.

Initially, Abedi, 27 wanted to join one of the big three, APR, Rayon Sport or Atraco for the remaining part of the season but his request was turned by Ferwafa.

Abedi returned back home after he was denied an International transfer certificate(ITC) by his former Israel club Hapoel Tel Aviv to join Difaa El Jadidi.

"I was denied an ITC to play for any of the Morocco clubs due to political reasons that exist between the two countries,” the former AS-Kigali forward confessed recently. Under those circumstances, the Rwandan international was left without a choice but to return home and start afresh.

The striker has now decided to join Remera based Union Sport in the second division as a way of maintaining his fitness or else he would find himself left out of the national team set up for the second and final 2010 World/Africa Nations Cup qualifying campaign.

Abedi and Olivier Karekezi are Amavubi Stars leading scorers with three goals each for the campaign.

Rwanda is in Group Three, along with Algeria, Zambia and six-time African champions Egypt.

Ends