FERWAFA invites 13 teams for Genocide memorial tourney

Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) has invited 13 national teams to participate in the second edition of the Genocide memorial tournament, which is scheduled for June 1-4 in Kigali. The four-day tournament is aimed at remembering the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. According to FERWAFA president, Vincent Nzamwita, Amavubi will also use the tournament as part of preparations for the first 2019 AFCON qualifier against Central African Republic that will be played on June 11 in Bangue. The invited countries include; Guinea Conakry, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Congo Brazzaville, Libya, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Gabon, Liberia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria. And, although none of them has confirmed their participation, it is believed that each team will have to meet their own expenses. “I can confirm that we have invited 13 national teams for this year’s Genocide memorial tournament, but none of them has confirmed,” Nzamwita told Saturday Sport. The inaugural tournament last year had four teams including hosts Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan and Tanzania, who played against each other in a round-robin. The competition is staged in memory of former footballers, fans, administrators as well as individuals connected to local football in one way or another, who passed away during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed lives of over a million Rwandans. On May 25, Amavubi will kick off the official camp in preparation for the opening 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Central African Republic. In the same group, Cote d’Ivoire will host Guinea in Abidjan on the same weekend. Rwanda was drawn in Group H for AFCON 2019 along with Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and Central African Republic. The remaining qualifiers will be played between March and November 2018. The winner of each group alongside the best three second placed teams will qualify for the tournament and hosts Cameroon will also be part of the qualifiers. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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FERWAFA invites 13 teams for Genocide memorial tourney