Rwanda Football Association (Ferwafa) boss Olivier Mugabo Nizeyimana has said that the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has cleared Rwanda to host the second leg tie of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Senegal at Huye Stadium.
Amavubi take on Senegal in the first leg on Tuesday, June 7, at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Dakar. It is a game that Rwanda was supposed to host at Huye Stadium until an inspection report from CAF officials indicated that the venue was not ready yet to host the June qualifying fixtures with renovation works at the Southern Province-based 10 000 seater facility underway.
Playing the first leg in Dakar fueled reports among some local media, and in Senegal as well, that Rwanda could be forced to play both legs in Dakar.
However, according to Nizeyimana, an amicable agreement was reached between both Rwanda and Senegal FAs that the latter will host the first leg in Dakar and will then travel to Huye to play the return leg in March next year.
Nizeyimana clarified that his office has a letter from CAF confirming that Amavubi will play match day five of the qualifiers against the African champions at Huye Stadium.
"I can confirm that we have the letter from CAF approving the Rwanda-Senegal match to be played at Huye Stadium. It is a letter that was written by neither Rwanda nor Senegal but CAF,” said Nizeyimana.
Rwanda started the AFCON 2023 Group L Qualifiers campaign with a draw against Mozambique in Johannesburg and Carlos Alos Ferrer’s team will be looking to frustrate African champions Senegal when they go head to head on Tuesday.