Kagame Cup relieves my Amavubi agony

Nyamirambo TOWN brimmed with every kind of person last Tuesday. Poor and rich, young and old, male and female, quiet and loud – they were all there in Nyamirambo—precisely, Kigali Regional Stadium. The mistake I made was to book my ticket late because when I got there, it was as though I snatched the last leaf from the last ticket booklet. The clash of the Titans, APR against Rayon Sports in the quarter-finals of the Cecafa Kagame Cup had been a long time coming and it was a must watch if you have love for local football. Once I made my entrance into the stadium, a mammoth crowd awaited. I could bet some people had camped there! Rayon Sports fans clearly dominated most sections, but surprisingly, APR fans made their voices heard, aided by their thunderous drumbeats by a band—, while rivals were restricted to Vuvuzelas. Once the match kicked off, you could immediately tell that this was not a normal game. It was the game of games! Rayon fans were soon hushed, when APR got a sudden lead through a scuffled corner that presented a sweet opportunity to striker Michel Ndahinduka, who easily slotted home. Bertrand Yossa however equalized for Rayon with a beautiful bicycle kick – however, it wasn’t the most beautiful goal of the evening. Before the stroke of half time, Rayon Sports skipper, Fuad Ndayisenga put the ‘Blues’ ahead with a 30 yards strike, which is probably the goal of the tournament. With the floodlights on in the second half, my eyes drifted to a solo bird in the sky, probably a raven, which got some ululation for acrobatically feeding on butterflies and other small insects. This bird came with luck for APR. Within minutes, defender Hervé Rugwiro headed in an equalizer from a sweet cross, and although Rayon dominated much of the remaining game, it became quite clear that both sides were headed for a penalty shootout. From where I sat, murmurs of “this is the final” were predominant. Most fans believed that whoever won would go on to lift the trophy, in this case APR, which went through on penalties. This however could sound farfetched when you consider that Uganda’s KCCA and Sudanese side El Mereikh, effortlessly sailed through to the semi finals. It would be totally unwise to cast their threat. One thing is for sure; at least we shall have a Rwandan side in the finals. The semis were played yesterday and as I scribble this, I have no clue as to which side succeeded yesterday, but my prediction is that APR will meet KCCA. With all due respect to Police FC, they are debutants, and by all standards, they have already achieved much by reaching the semi finals. Secondly, for some reason, they never win against APR! Fact! So, unless something extraordinary happens, APR against Police is a done deal. All in all, Kagame Cup has proven to be a worthy drug that has taken my eyes off the scandalous Ferwafa, which has dragged our nation into pitiful shame. Calls to nurture local talent have always fallen on deaf ears in favor of mercenaries. Now Rwanda suffers a bitter disappointment. No Africa Cup for us again – not because we failed to qualify, but because we were disqualified for using a player who may not be Rwandan. @RushAfrican on Twitter