The first round of the 2024/25 Rwanda Premier League closed on Sunday, January 12, with Rayon Sports leading the table with 36 points from 15 games. It has been a great first half of the season of good football and goals mixed with shocking results and controversies among other moments that left the campaign experiencing highs and lows. Times Sport takes a look at four major highlights from the first round of the season. Haruna Niyonzima's contract termination Rayon Sports unveiled legendary Amavubi skipper Haruna Niyonzima before the 2024/25 season started amidst funfair. He was returning to the club where the breakthrough of his football career took shape and the fans gave him the reception he deserved. However, the veteran midfielder barely lasted 50 days without kicking a ball in the league as his contract was terminated. His only involvement was in the Rayon Cup game with Azam. Niyonzima joined Rayon Sports 17 years after leaving the club for APR FC. However, his relationship with the club management deteriorated two months later. Rayon are said to have agreed to pay him a recruitment fee of Rwf 5,000,000 for one year which they never paid, prompting the player to get his contract terminated with immediate effect. No one expected this coming, a situation that cast a snare on the image of the Blues. APR's foreign player quota scandal Rwanda FA’s new foreign player quota rule indicated that, starting with 2024/25 season, clubs are not allowed to field more than 6 foreign players in a league game. Contrary, APR fielded the seventh player Nigerian Nwobodo Chidiebere who came in for Arsene Tuyisenge when they were held to a goalless draw by Gorilla FC on November 3 2024. Gorilla FC filed a complaint which FERWAFA ruled in their favor hence the Rwandan champions lost the match by forfeit over exceeding the number of foreign players. Rayon, APR crumbled in Huye Two Southern Province-based clubs Mukura Victory Sports and Amagaju FC will forever savor week 15 of the 2024/25 Premier League for they stunned Rwanda’s two football giants Rayon Sports and APR FC respectively on their very home ground. Mukura beat Rayon 2-1 at Huye Stadium on January 11 to bring their 14-game unbeaten run to an end before Amagaju FC also stunned APR with a 1-0 win at the same venue 24 hours later. It is rare to see Rayon and APR losing on the same weekend in the domestic league but Mukura and Amagaju FC defied the odds and brought the two heavyweights down, turning Huye yellow with the crucial wins. Amahoro Stadium sold out a day before the derby The first of the crunch derbies between the two glamorous clubs in Rwanda Rayon Sports and APR was played at renovated Amahoro Stadium on December 7. It was the first league derby at the edifice since renovation works on the state-of-the-art facility concluded in June. A day before the match, the 45,000-seater stadium had been sold out, generating gates revenues worth in excess of Rwf 173.5 million.
