Kabanda boost

JUNIOR Wasps midfielder Bonfils Kabanda is expected to link up with the rest of the team this week. The Nancy FC youngster has been featuring for the club’s youth side but will be released by his club this week. “I have spoken to his coach ‘Vincent Hognon’ and he has assured me that the player will be released during the course of the week,” Junior Wasps head coach Richard Tardy was quoted as saying. Kabanda was part of that famous team that rewrote history by becoming the first national football team to qualify for a Fifa World Cup and is expected to play a part in Friday’s friendly against Auxerre’s youth team. Tardy will also have his first look at Jean Marie Rusingizandekwe (defender) and Victor (striker) who feature for Marines in Belgium. The junior wasps are currently camped in Paris as they continue they build-up to the 2011 Fifa U-17 World in Mexico which kicks off on June 18.Last week, the team fought back to snatch a 2-all draw against Drancy FC in their first warm-up game. The youngsters trailed the French 0-2 at half time but a strong second half performance brought Richard Tardy’s side back into the game. Suleiman Kakira scored Rwanda’s opener before Mico Justin leveled with 12 minutes to play.After the game, Tardy was full of praise for the team. “The fact that the team managed to come from two down says a lot about the players’ mental strength,” he said in his post match interview. The climax of the team’s training camp is a friendly against France’s U-17 side- the Little Blues on April 28 in Clairefontaine, Paris.Tardy has no doubt that the game will be a good test for his team. “The game against ‘Les Bleuets’ will give the boys a glimpse of what to expect in Mexico,” the 61-year-old said. For the Little Blues, the match is a build-up to the Euro U-17 championship slated to run from May 3-15 in Serbia. After the training camp in France, the team will camp in the US before connecting to Mexico for the tournament proper. Ends

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Kabanda boost