French club Paris Saint-Germain’s football academy will start operations in Rwanda in October ‘if things go according to plan’, the Ministry of Sports has said. The academy is part of a three-year sponsorship deal that was signed last December between Rwanda and the French football giants. With the partnership, among other agreements, PSG promote Rwandan brands and the country as a tourism destination of choice. Set to be based at Huye Stadium, in Southern Province, the highly anticipated PSG academy was initially supposed to start operations on September 20, but the plans were pushed to a later date due to circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Addressing the media on Friday, September 18, the Ministry of Sports’ Permanent Secretary, Didier Maboko Shema, revealed that they are closely working together with the club’s delegation in charge of the academy to make sure everything is in place to start operations next month. “We are working closely with the PSG delegation that was in charge of recruitment of coaches and other staff. They were some hitches on their side that delayed the recruitment process, then Covid-19 came in and disrupted the plans further,” said Shema. Shema revealed that the academy was set to settle in Huye between May and September before becoming operation effective September 20, but due to Covid-19, everything has been rescheduled to a later date. “There are some administrative and logistical tasks that were not completed on time due to the pandemic, but we are confident everything will be in place on time for October’s opening.” The PSG academy office, Shema noted, will provide a detailed programme of how the academy will operate. According to its mandate, the PSG Academy aims at supporting Rwandan youngsters reach their full potential through organizing high level training for both young talents and coaches, and enabling access to expertise offered by France’s most successful football club. In July, Rwanda football legend Jimmy Mulisa was shortlisted for the Technical Director role at the soon to be launched PSG Academy. He is vying for the position with Musanze FC Coach Innocent Seninga, a former assistant coach of the national team.
