Every time the national team ‘Amavubi’ fails to perform well in any major competition, there is always a call to go back to the drawing board with the hope it will help bring better results. It is no different this time around after Amavubi failed to make it to the last round of the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers after losing four matches which means they will finish bottom of their group with just 1 point from a possible 18. Mali booked their place in round three of the qualifiers with a game to spare after a three-goal victory against Rwanda. Moussa Djenepo, Ibrahima Kone, and Kalifa Coulibaly were all on the score sheet. The last time Rwanda qualified for a major event was in 2004 when Amavubi team made it to the Africa Cup of nations in Tunisia. Since then it has been a tale of missed chances that has claimed many coaches on the way. One of the major reasons for the failure to qualify for a major competition is the lack of proper youth structures. When the qualifiers started, no one gave Rwanda a chance after failing to impress against East Africa opponents like Kenya and Uganda. No East African country has ever qualified for the World Cup. After a disappointing qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup quilters, mainly orchestrated by the group that has been at the helm of the national team for the best part of the last decade, the overhauled Amavubi, has not shown some signs of recovery at the qualifications campaign. Rwanda needs a full squad to win against big teams. I’m referring to a full squad because anything short of that, leaves the team with no competition for playing time. Coaches have come and gone without achieving much success since Rwanda made her debut at African Nations Cup in Tunisia in 2004 has not had any impact on returning to the continental elite tourney. Apart from qualifying for CHAN, the AFCON and World Cup Qualification campaigns have gone by in thin air because Rwanda has tried to relive the 2004 memories but to no effect- all this because the success of 2004 was not taken as a stepping stone. Looking to other achievements, Rwanda hosted U-20 AFCON in 2009 but failed to finish in the top four while two years later in 2011 Rwanda hosted U17 where the young boys made Rwandans smile by reaching the final and qualified for the World Cup for the first time which held in Mexico but since then, it seems Rwanda Football Federation and Ministry of Sports have been satisfied with only that results. The country doesn’t youth leagues which can produce the next stars like Emery Bayisenge, Andrew Buteera, Faustin Usengimana, Célestin Ndayishimiye, Eric Rutanga, Eric ‘Zidane’ Nsabimana, Michel Rusheshangoga, Justin Mico, and others. Rwanda may not be one of the powerhouses of African football, but on many occasions, the Wasps have proved more than capable against some of the continent’s top teams as Nigeria and Ghana can testify. The team wasn’t followed up to ensure continuity but football administrators only looked at short-term results leaving the long-term aspect to whoever it may concern. Over the last couple of years, Rwandan football has not fared well as far as grooming local talent is concerned even though recent signs show that the tide could be changing for the better. Short-term results with little emphasis on the long-term should be done away with if the sport is to move forward and there is no better way to achieve this than to give a chance to local youngsters. Looking at the senior national team that is supposed to be fed by the national junior category teams, it’s still a team of players whose pension days are on the brink. Not very many junior players have been coming through the ranks but with the current group of players taking part in the next World Cup qualifiers against Mali and Kenya, everything points to a bright future for local football. Rwandan soccer has struggled to bridge the gap left by a lost generation, with young players now coming through to fill the void, this group should be given the chance to shine in the national team. Ferwafa and the ministry of sports and culture need to pick a few lessons from Ethiopian football and make powerful youth structures but in the same spirit, encourage the upcoming players to be ambitious and work harder for their country. There is nothing disappointing to find the government injecting lots of money into the game and at the end of the day, there is nothing to show for this.
