Naturalised players speak out on ban from Amavubi

Foreign players on the national team have broken the silence on the decision taken by Rwanda Football Federation (Ferwafa) directing them to drop adopted Rwandan names. The players must assume their original names and if they feel they want to be Rwandans, they must pass through normal channels to acquire citizenship. Some of the affected players include Dady Birori, Mbuyu Twite, Hussein Sibomana, Jerome Sina, Peter Kagabo, Rodrigue Murengezi, Arafat Serugendo and Fredrick Ndaaka among others. “They will not feature for the Rwanda national team if they don’t follow the new rules,” Ferwafa vice president Vedaste Kayiranga told this paper. Following Ferwafa’s directive, Peter Kagabo, whose original name is said to be Otema, took to social media to express his frustrations. “It is hard to take, for five years I have served my country but now I am called a foreigner! Now I am going to Somalia, God help me, I still have my legs but I will miss you and I love you,” the Uganda-born forward posted on his face book timeline. Fredrick Ndaaka also posted on facebook page: “I am strong…. whatever they say, I’m Ndaaka and I am Rwandan not foreigner, they say I am Ugandan and, I say please stop.” The directive comes a few weeks after Rwanda was disqualified from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations-Morocco qualifiers for using a player with double identity—Dady Birori also known as Agiti Tady Etekiama at his Kinshasa-based club, AS Vita. Subsequently the Confederation of African Football (Caf) also suspended the DR Congo-born striker for two years without playing football for both club and country. According to Kayiranga, the affected players must take on their original nationalities and if they want to be Rwandans, they should follow the legal process. “We have made it clear, they must use their original names and if they want to be Rwandans, they should follow the proper channels. Ferwafa will help anyone, who wants to continue to play for Rwanda,” Kayiranga told Times Sport recently. The local football governing body last week postponed the start of the 2014/15 league season to October 18 claiming that they were yet to solve the issue of players, who are affected by the directive. The league was initially scheduled to start on September 20.

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Naturalised players speak out on ban from Amavubi