City of Kigali announces interim solution for Pelé Stadium lighting issues
Friday, August 23, 2024
President Paul Kagame (3rd-right) participated in a ceremonial match with global football leaders and legends to officially open then newly renovated and rebranded Kigali Pele Stadium on March 15, 2023. PHOTO BY OLIVIER MUGWIZA

The City of Kigali has announced a temporary measure to address the lighting issues at Kigali Pelé Stadium, ensuring evening matches can continue as scheduled.

The quick solution follows criticism from President Paul Kagame on Thursday, August 22.

City authorities had informed the Rwanda Football Federation (Ferwafa) and the league board earlier in the day that the stadium would not be able to host evening matches for the next three months due to ongoing generator issues.

In response, the president took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his discontent, stating, "This should NOT have happened in the first place.”

Emma-Claudine Ntirenganya, the City of Kigali spokesperson, acknowledged that although a new generator has been ordered, it will not arrive in time.

In the interim, a temporary generator will be used to facilitate night games.

"We are committed to resolving the lighting issues promptly. In the meantime, teams can continue to play night games with the temporary generator we’ve arranged,” Ntirenganya told The New Times.

Ntirenganya explained that the delay in acquiring the new generator is due to the allocation of funds from the 2024-2025 budget.

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The city had previously alerted Ferwafa that night games would be suspended until the issue was resolved.

The issue first came to light in March when Rayon Sports were forced to reschedule a match against rivals APR from 6pm to 3pm over inadequate lighting.