Give Kazura another term but…

With the national football’s federation elections slated for Sunday, the federation till now has not come out to announce the candidates for the hot seat. This means that the incumbent Brigadier General Jean Bosco Kazura will be running unopposed. Whether he decides to run for the second term or anyone else stands this time around it should be different ball game. Performance contracts should be introduced in the management of Rwandan football if positive results are be achieved. Though football is not run by government, it can be a reflection of a country economic, political and social development. Rwanda’s football has reached a point where its full potential needs to be tapped. This is happening at the time when the entire economy is registering positive growth prospects. My argument for the introduction of performance contracts is based on achievements reached by different government bodies that use the concept. The football performance contracts should be signed between the stakeholders who also include government and the federation. The governmental institutions which include Rwanda Revenue Authority, Social Security Fund of Rwanda, local government, well as several departments of the ministries use this concept. Records have shown that the idea of signing performance contracts is very important and has paid off in the last few years since it sets a clear vision and guidelines to follow. Among the guidelines for Kazura to follow is to qualify Rwanda to Gabon 2012 Nations cup, Rwandan clubs to enter the lucrative groups of the Caf championships, two Cecafa championships for the national team, two Kagame/ Cecafa Cup championships. Great leaders have come and gone but none has come close to contest Kazura’s limelight in the local press. Written off by many in the local media as a non-starter whose administration wouldn’t stand the wind of change that was blowing Rwandan football at the time, the flamboyant administrator and his group of lieutenants like Jules Kalisa and Vedaste Kayiranga have soldiered on to the end. It’s not so easy for a national football association like Rwanda’s to have good working relationships with Fifa and Caf, Kazura has achieved this. Kazura’s reign has seen Rwanda being awarded rights to host the 2009 African Youth Championship as well as 2011 Africa U-17 Championship. During Kazura’s reign Ferwafa has accessed Fifa grants for the artificial turf laying of Remera, Nyamirambo and Kicukiro stadiums. Four years on Sunday marks the ascending to Rwanda’s football’s top job by Kazura, formerly the African Union Forces Deputy Commander in the troubled Sudan’s region of Darfur. He won the Federation of Rwanda Football Association’s (Ferwafa) presidential elections with an overwhelming 100% vote count - 92 out of 92. The elections, presided over by the then outgoing federation president Major General Ceasar Kayizari, were hailed as a wind of change in Rwandan football. Youth development is on the lips of every football administrator, backed by thousands of dollars in Fifa grants and it has become a perquisite to take over football offices across the globe. Ferwafa in the last four years has not fared very well in this project however towards the trend has changed for the better. Each team participating in the national league has been put to task to have a junior side competing in the feeder junior national league. Rwandan soccer has struggled to bridge the gap left by a lost generation, but young players are now coming through to fill the void in the national team. Ferwafa has been slowly trying to rebuild the game and feels it is making progress. “We have a team in transition because this country lacks a whole generation of players in their mid-20s. As the more established team members have got older, we’ve had to look for much younger talent to integrate into the side and I think it’s only now we are coming out of the valley,”. “It will be a gradual transition, and we shall reach our goals. For the last four years we have tried to put everything in place so as to achieve our goal”. Kazura saidApart from the lack of a financial base to run the league, the competitiveness has increased with the improvement of the referees; so the league will continue to grow. The federation should urge all stakeholders to improve on service delivery and build capacity that suits their role as key institutions driving the football forward. This is very important. The focus is there, the energy is there, all the federation needs is to set targets which all clubs should abide work towards. What Rwanda’s football now needs is continuity to build on the achievements reached in the past four years. Let Kazura be given a performance contract for the next term. kas2dani@yahoo.com.