Is the Africa Super League on Rayon Sport’s radar?

Local football giants Rayon Sports are undergoing a major transformation in different departments to meet the criteria required by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for any club to be allowed to take part in recently-approved African Super League tournament. CAF president Patrice Motsepe this month confirmed that the African Super League will be launched in August 2022 and will kick-off in August 2023 with a prize money of $100 million. No further details on which teams are eligible to take part in the African Super League have been communicated but recent reports indicated that besides featuring in top 24 of the CAF five-year ranking, teams without women and youth teams will have no place in the competition. The Blues last week unveiled plans to introduce a youth team and a senior women’s team, two of the key elements required for any African team to be considered as a candidate for the Super League. However, club president Jean Fidele Uwayezu said that the club is only focused on building a strong team around the youth while the women’s team was always on the club management’s long-term project to create a room for women to showcase their football talent just like men do. “We will establish a youth team and a women’s team because its part of the club values, long-term project. If we are to build a strong Rayon Sports team, we also need to think of building the team around young football talents and that’s how the idea to establish a youth team came about,” Uwayezu explained. Asked whether the club is considering joining the Super League, Uwayeu said, “We are aware that the Super League is coming but we are not sure yet whether we will participate in it. If having a women’s team is a condition for teams to be allowed to participate in the super League, then it will be an advantage for us. We just want women to realize their football dreams just like their brothers do. It’s their right to play football too,” he added. Uwayezu said the club is eager to work with different partners to ensure their project to introduce youth and women’s teams becomes a success. The club last week signed a three-year partnership extension with SKOL worth over Rwf 1 billion and the youth and women teams are among club’s key projects that the local brewer agreed to sponsor while signing the new partnership.