Gatete to open football academy on Christmas

Rwanda’s football legend Jimmy Gatete, one of the country’s most celebrated and gifted footballers, will return home from the US on Christmas Eve to open a football academy, Saturday Sport understands.Gatete, who has been staying in the US for the last three years, is expected to launch the ‘Jimmy Gatete Football Academy’ on Christmas, a day after his arrival.If everything goes according to plan, the feat will make him the first ex-Rwandan international to set up a football academy in the country.The New Times has learned that the school is already up and running, with 40 students.According to the coordinator of the academy operations, Emmanuel Ndagijimana a.k.a Gisimba, the school is Gatete’s own initiative.For the moment, the players, aged between 9 and 18 train at Utexrwa grounds but Gisimba says Gatete plans to acquire land on which to construct the academy in the near future.“We have already started training with full support from him (Gatete), and we’re planning to organise a tournament for Kigali-based academies. On December 25, Gatete will be in country to officially open the academy and share Christmas with the players,” Gisimba revealed.Gatete, 31, is almost synonymous with Rwanda’s historic journey to the 2004 Nations Cup finals in Tunisia at the expense of the likes of Ghana and Uganda, only ten years after the Genocide against the Tutsi in the country.Nearly ten years later, Gatete and co. remains by far the most successful generation in Rwanda’s football.Gatete’s incredible goals on the road to Tunisia continue to evoke sweet memories among fans to date.Gatete is married to Aline Hakizamungu with whom they have two daughters. Born in Bujumbura, Burundi, Gatete played club football for local sides Mukura Victory Sports, APR FC, Rayon Sports and Police FC before a short stint with Ethiopian giants St. George in 2010. He also had a brief spell in South Africa with Maritzburg United in 2005. He made over 30 appearances for the national team and scored crucial goals, including memorable strikes against Uganda and Ghana, that took Rwanda to its first ever Africa Nations Cup finals in Tunisia in 2004. He’s the scorer of the most celebrated goal in Rwandan football history – against the Black Stars of Ghana at Stade Amahoro in Kigali in March 2003.Gatete started his playing career with AS Rangers in Bujumbura.He was part of the Rayon Sports side that won Rwanda its first Cecafa title in 1998.He would later have two spells with both local rivals APR and Rayon.It is during his stint at St. George that Gatete called time on his club and international football in 2010 after falling out with his club coach, Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic.Micho was later be appointed Rwanda national football team coach before he was sacked in April this year at the back of Amavubi’s poor run in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.Micho now coaches Uganda Cranes.