Boxing sport needs a backbone

Football is inseparable with the Rwandan culture and is continuously drawing thousands to fields to at least kick a ball while other sporting activities plunge deeper into total annihilation. Take an example of sport like swimming which is almost non-existent in Rwanda or boxing, which is doing well in the neighboring countries yet in Rwanda, it still struggling to take root despite being in existence since 1996. According to Eugene Ndashyikirwa, the Secretary General of the Rwanda Amateur Boxing Association (RABA), Rwandans have not taken in boxing as a sport. “People in Rwanda still don’t know a lot about boxing, yet I’m convinced that boxing is a good sport that could make boxers earn a good living,” he says, adding that there is a general lack of vision in our local sports. “People, who have money don’t realize that sports is a good investment that can earn them loads of profits, so I think we need to do more to convince them and attract investment not only to boxing but sports in general,” Ndashyikirwa explains. All sport in Rwanda, boxing particularly, is in dire need of funding to move forward, “We urgently need sponsors because at this moment we are doing badly—only the ministry of sports is supporting, but only when we’re going for international competitions. Yet we have nothing to run our programs to develop the sport,” the boxing federations SG states. That lack of funding also has a big impact on capacity building among those running the sport. “There are many people out there, who are interested in boxing, but we lack resources to reach out to them,” Ndashyikirwa says. “Today we have few clubs, such as Kimisagara, Remera, Inkuba, No Limits and Masaka Boxing Club, but they too are struggling to stay in existence,” And this situation obviously also resulted in a lack of qualified coaches, with the few current around doing it as volunteers. As RABA continues its quest for sponsors who, Ndashyikirwa reckons are not only expected to inject money in the sport, but also to help in promoting it. “We need sponsors, who can help us to promote the sport, and I am sure that they will get their value for money because when I see the number of spectators that turn up for boxing tournaments, I can confidently say that boxing is quite popular,” Ndashyikirwa says. Another strategy to make boxing known more is to set up clubs upcountry, which can also help to find new talent. Ndashyikirwa’s views are shared by former national team boxer Benon Kalisa, who agrees that the main problem staling boxing in the country is the lack of organization and sponsorship. “I got frustrated with the federation because they never seemed to be able to get their act together,” noted Kalisa, who ganged his gloves in 1998 to go into private business. And Daniel Nsengiyumva, a former boxer also thinks there is a fundamental problem with the guys running the federation. “The people in the federation are not sufficiently devoted to the sport,” he urges. Yet, there may be hope as the world boxing body; AIBA has offered to facilitate Rwanda’s representative at next month’s AIBA World Boxing Championships in Milan, Italy. The championships is scheduled for September 1-13 and AIBA will offer a training camp for the Rwandan boxers. Light welter (64kg) Maurice Sibomana and Light weight (60kg) Sibomana Niyitegeka are the two boxers who have been selected to represent the country in Italy. Ends

Lifestyle

Boxing sport needs a backbone