The national football team Amavubi will take on Namibia and the Republic of the Congo in warm-up matches between January 7 and 11 in Kigali ahead of the 6th African Nations Championships (CHAN) finals. The CHAN tournament is scheduled for January 16 through February 7 in Cameroon. The two friendly matches will be Rwanda’s final assessment before the team heads to Cameroon. Head coach Vincent Mashami has said Rwandans should be confident that his side will put up a spirited performance in the competition. “A winning start will be key to our bid for a spot in the knockout stages.” Amavubi have been training under floodlights at Amahoro stadium so as to prepare for the CHAN matches, which will be played at night. Rwanda’s first match against Uganda on January 18 will take place at 10 pm Rwandan time – 9 pm in Cameroon. Rwanda makes Group C alongside Uganda, holders Morocco and debutants Togo. For Amavubi to secure a slot into the quarter-finals, they will need to finish in the top two. After the warm-up matches, Amavubi are expected to fly to Cameroon on January 11, whereas their regional rivals Uganda Cranes are already in Cameroon where they will play a number of warm-up games ahead of the tournament. Mashami, who was an assistant coach during the 2016 CHAN tournament, will be facing his former boss Johnny McKinstry who is the Uganda Cranes head coach since September 2019. Rwanda secured her ticket to CHAN finals after edging out Ethiopia 2-1 in the Cecafa region qualifiers in October 2019.
