Earlier this month, the Rwanda Football Federation (Ferwafa) announced that they will not send a team to represent the country at the CECAFA U17 tournament, a competition that qualifies teams that will participate in the U17 African Cup of Nations (AFCON U17). The development came in as bad news, especially for the Rwandans who follow the game day by day and understand that the hope for the country’s football is in putting in place structures, opportunities and facilities for young players. When Rwanda qualified for the 2004 AFCON and for the U17 World Cup in 2011, Ferwafa was probably the most ambitious among all sports institutions in the country, or even in the whole East African region. No wonder, the game was growing fast, as players were coming from primary and secondary schools, as well as academies and junior teams to go into clubs and national teams. However, as time passes, the ambition and organisation that brought such good results seems to be fading fast, making the game retard in the country. Currently, it looks like the officials as well as fans are losing hope in the national team’s ability to raise the national flag high at tournaments, or even qualifiers. Some people with knowledge about the game talk about key problems that hamper Rwandan football,. A number of them put the blame on the local federation for not doing what it takes. Nowadays, the country has a good number of young players playing in the league. So, the hope is that if Ferwafa continues to prepare the young generation it will achieve more in the coming years. However, one of the things that are subject to questions is Ferwafa’s role in making sure that the young lads get structures that nurture them into better footballers, or opportunities to play at top competitions like the AFCON U17, or some European tournaments organised sometimes to give foreign youngsters chance to showcase their talents. It is clear that the talent is there. But the federation needs to have good programmes aimed at developing the game and making good follow-up on youth players. The federation is trying to look outside the country, to scout some Rwandan players that are plying their trade abroad so that they can be brought back to play for their country. Young players like Gilbert Ishimwe (Orebro, Sweden), Hakim Sahabo of Lille, Glen Habimana of Victoria Reports in Luxembourg and Sven Kalisa of Etzeila Etellbruck in Luxembourg are some of those approached to represent Rwanda. But this is not enough. There are a number of players at the local grass-root levels that need to be identified as well, and be nurtured to make sure that their talents don’t go to waste. There is availability of abundant talent in secondary schools yet these youngsters don’t really have a lot of people who give them proper guidance about how to be top players that can compete at the highest stage in football. The standards in the inter-school competitions are very low. This is one of the areas where stakeholders like the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Education need to go back to the basics since many players can come from these competitions. Rwanda U23 will face Mali in the first leg, on October 22 , at Huye Stadium, before travelling for the decisive encounter on October 29, in Mali, eyeing participation in the 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations. Amavubi U23 reached the second round of the biggest youth competition after seeing off Libya, by away goal advantage after drawing 4-4 in their two encounters. During the national team’s current quest to qualify for the 2023 AFCON, it has lost to Senegal and drawn against Mozambique. In the upcoming fixtures, Rwanda will play return games against Senegal and Mozambique, and then Benin. Should, against all odds, Amavubi pull it off and qualify, the country will have ended a 17-year wait to return to the continent's biggest football showpiece. That will be a very happy moment for Rwandans. We hope, and pray, it comes to pass. However, we don’t just need one good moment. We need a working strategic football plan that delivers sustainable results. That calls for sustainable systems and structures in place.
