The Special Olympics Rwanda football team will take part in the 2010 World Cup for Hope tournament which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Special Olympics Rwanda national director disclosed during a press conference on Wednesday that Rwanda is among eleven African countries that would participate in the inaugural tournament designed for people with intellectual disabilities.

Other countries include; Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Ghana, Mauritius, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin and hosts South Africa.

 "We have been invited to take part in the World Cup for Hope together with 10 other African countries,” Analects Ruzindana announced.

He noted that Rwanda would start their preparations sometime next year and then play in number of international build-up matches in 2009.

The World Cup "Football for Hope” tournament will be staged by Special Olympics International in conjunction with the World football governing body; Fifa.

There would be no qualifying phases for the participating countries but member countries would simply send their respective teams for the month long tournament.

Ruzindana noted that the Rwandan team would be selected from the different centers countrywide that took part in last weekend’s Fifa sponsored tournament held at Kicukiro.

The tournament organised by the Special Olympics Rwanda and sponsored by the world football body, attracted 16 centers for the intellectually disabled persons in the country participating in the 5-a-side, 7-a-side and 11-a-side Football for Hope.

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