Isonga FC to conduct talent detection camps

As part of efforts to scout and nurture young talent at the grassroots level, second division side Isonga Football Club is organising a talent detection camp during school holidays, club chairman Gregoire Muramira has said. Speaking to Times Sport on Saturday, Muramira said the talent detection camp targets kids between 13 and 17 years old, and those under 13 years old. “We are planning a camp in each province to scout for kids as young as 13 and below and start preparing them for the future. We need to prepare the next generation of players,” said Muramira. He added, “We are doing this with the future of the national team in mind. This programme will help players who are under 13 years and below to improve their lives through football.” The veteran football administrator said they intend to come up with two sets of teams (U-13 and U-17) who will later be moved to the Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) academy in Kigali. The Ministry of Sports and Culture continues to sponsor the second division team and, according to Muramira, the club’s objective remains the same: to continue giving a chance to young Rwandan players. Isonga FC was founded in 2011 as a composition of players that played at the African U-17 Youth Championship and the FIFA World Cup. The team was promoted to the U-20 level and registered to play in the national league without going through the second division. In their debut season under Eric Nshimiyimana, Isonga finished in sixth position in the 2011/12 top flight season but failed to maintain that impressive form in the 2012/13 season, which saw them relegated to the second-tier league under Yves Rwasamanzi. The club has produced players who have gone on to realise their dream of playing for big clubs in Rwanda and abroad. Some of the players that have come through Isonga include; Amavubi defenders Emery Bayisenge and Michel Rusheshangoga as well as goalkeeper Marcel Nzarora, among others. editorial@newtimes.co.rw