Delays in renovating both the Amahoro Stadium and Kigali Stadium could see Rwanda risk hosting its 2022 Qatar home games qualifiers on neutral ground. Times Sport has established that a recent inspection visit conducted by officials from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) left them unimpressed by the state of both facilities before the qualification campaign starts in June. The latest observations from the inspection team tackled three key aspects of the facilities including the perimeter fence, state of the pitch, and parking lot. The inspection team warned that it would not allow the country to host upcoming 2022 World Cup Qualifiers fixtures in June if both facilities are not ready by April 24. Francois Regis Uwayezu, the Secretary General of Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) told Times Sport that they are working on recommendations suggested by the CAF’s inspection team in race to see the national team stand a chance to host its games on home turf. “We received a letter from CAF requesting us to do renovation activities and we are looking at how we can address this before the second inspection is conducted,” Uwayezu said in a telephone interview. He however, said that, whether Rwanda plays its WC qualifying fixtures on home turf or at neutral grounds will depend on how the football governing body’s stakeholders, mainly the government, will respond to CAF’s concerns. “This is a matter that not only concerns FERWAFA but also our stakeholders, mainly the government which is responsible for the renovations of the facilities. We are discussing with concerned stakeholders to see if we meet the given deadline,” he said. Rwanda, which is pooled in Group F of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, alongside Mali and East African sides Uganda and Kenya, kicks off the qualification campaign with a visit to Mali before hosting Kenya a week later.
