Anyone who has zeal will follow their dreams regardless of the hardships—this is what professional local football player, Brian Muhinda, believes.

The 26-year-old’s love for football started in 2011, while in Senior One at Kagarama High School. At the time, new students weren’t allowed to play or train with the school’s football team, but one of his friends knew he had potential and asked him to join the training. 

One day when interschool games were organised for the first time, he got the chance to play in the second half and scored a goal. Later on, he won a medal for ‘best player of the year’, and he has since believed that playing football is what he was born to do. 

"I now play for the Bugesera Football Club. Bugesera needed the best defender and I have the qualities to be one, because of the way I play, my discipline, my physical appearance, and the passion to elevate the team. The administration asked me to join the team and I agreed because it aligned with my desires and where I want to be,” he says.

Muhinda explains that being a football player requires commitment and focus, and the courage to not give up even when you lose. Also, one must strive hard to lift the team and oneself. 

The footballer hopes to be a good example to the younger generation, and show them that anyone can achieve their dreams if they keep pushing—it takes hard work, discipline and patience. Also, it requires innovation as well as teamwork, because you can’t achieve alone in football.

He is inspired by Virgil van Dijk, a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team.

"Dijk inspires me because we play the same position and I love the techniques he uses to help his team win,” he says. 

Muhinda’s future plans are to open up a football foundation in his name, where he hopes to promote the talents of young people in football, especially from his area, Nyagatare-Karangazi. 

"I haven’t seen anyone excel in football that side yet there are a number of talented children who lack the push and support to become professionals,” he emphasises. 

He also longs to play for Amavubi, the national football team, and hopes to one day play for great teams or clubs outside the country such as Liverpool, because people like Mohamed Salah, he says, have proved that it’s an attainable dream when you work for it.

One of the challenges he encounters is that a number of people don’t believe football is a ‘profitable profession’ and so it’s not easy to get support from friends and family.

Looking back at his own journey, he says his parents didn’t support him; when he completed O-level at Kagarama, they wanted him to keep up with studies yet he had been called by the Sports Empowerment Club Academy to go and learn more about football. 

Naturally, he felt he had to chase his dream first then revert to academics later—a decision, he says, he doesn’t regret.

"I wanted to take my talent to a professional level and earn from it. I appreciate my brother who believed in me and supported me. With time, I started playing for the Police Football Club and I was paid. I started helping my parents’ pay some home expenses and they eventually had full trust in me and supported me at their best.”

Muhinda is also currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management at the University of Tourism, Technology and Business Studies-UTB, Kicukiro.