Final
Republican Guard 2-1 Special Forces
Republican Guard (RG) Unit FC on Tuesday, January 31, beat Special Operation Forces (SOF) 2-1 in a tightly-contested final held at Bugesera Stadium to retain the RDF Inter Force games title for the second time in a row.
RG dominated the first half of the final which attracted close to 1500 spectators. midfielder Jean Claude Mutabazi opened the scoring after just 10 minutes before striker Theoneste Bizimana doubled the lead in the 38th minute to go to the halftime break with a 2-0 advantage.
SOF hoped to do a comeback in the second half after making some changes.
Jean Baptiste Musengo pulled one back in the 50th minute to restore their chances of forcing an equalizer but RG’s men, with morale-boosting songs from their fellows in the stands, resisted until the last minute and went on to clinch the title.
The last time the pair met in a similar competition was in 2019 when RGuard beat SOF 4-2 in the final.
Defence Minister Maj Gen Albert Murasira, Senior Presidential Advisor on security, Gen James Kabarebe, Rwanda Defence Force Chief of Defence Staff, General Jean Bosco Kazura, Minister of Youth and Culture, Rosemary Mbabazi and Ferwafa President Olivier Mugabo were among dignitaries who attended the entertaining final match between the two defence units.
Awarding prizes to the winners, Murasira emphasized the importance of the competition, saying that it aims at enhancing physical and mental fitness, cohesion, comradeship, discipline and morale among members of the RDF.
The RDF Inter Force Competition 2022-2023 started at lower levels in RDF Units in November 2022, and comprised seven different disciplines; shooting, football, basketball, volleyball, handball, netball and athletics.
Minister Mbabazi encouraged youth to learn from the Rwandan army to behave professionally in daily service.
"As youth you should be encouraged by the professionalism our army shows in their everyday work,” Mbabazi said.
"Today RDF taught us that we shouldn’t have any excuse of not doing sports,” she added.
In other competitions, General Headquarter claimed the title in basketball after beating Air Force 48-39 in the final. Special Operations Forces clinched the handball trophy and the netball championship went to Military Police.
RG scooped the volleyball title while Nasho Basic Military Training Centre won the shooting competition.
The RDF Inter-Force Competition is an annual event that tests abilities of military units and formations in various sports disciplines and its conclusion coincides with the celebration of Heroes&039; Day in Rwanda.
The competition resumed after a two-year hiatus due to safety concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic.
RDF identifies talented individuals from this tournament who will be selected to participate in international military competitions such as the East African Community Military Games, among others.