PM urges FA to turn game into profitable venture

THE Prime Minister, Pierre Damien Habumuremyi has urged the Rwanda Football Federation (Ferwafa) to turn the game into a viable business venture in line with global trends.Habumuremyi made the call when he paid a visit to the federation headquarters in Remera, Kigali, on Wednesday.He said, “With combined efforts, football in this country should be turned into an industry which is productive and promoting the country.”“Football is a uniting tool for Rwandans, creates jobs and generates income. We should come to terms with the fact that football is no longer a pastime, it is a business.”He challenged the federation to be transparent and to show good corporate governance in their administration. Like any business, football administration must qualitatively transform in order to harness the synergies that are clearly apparent and manifest in the sector, he added. After being taken through their operations, Habumuremyi pledged his full support in helping Ferwafa achieve their target of making Rwanda among the top 10 footballing countries in Africa in the next five years.Among the obstacles noted include; lack of adequate infrastructures such as stadiums, lack of provincial and district technical directors to assist the national technical director Richard Tardy in identifying raw talent and making follow-ups at the grassroots.The Prime Minister promised government’s support to address the challenges. Habumuremyi urged Ferwafa to end reliance on foreign players in the national football league. “It is good that you reduced the number of foreign players to three but why not reduce it to zero in the next season?”“If we want to nurture our own talents, we need to give room to them to play so as to have many talents in the future,” added Habumuremyi.He, however, urged Ferwafa to embark on youth football as well as to find mechanisms of making local football clubs self sufficient.Among other things the Prime Minister agreed to put into consideration include; constructing a hotel for national football teams, enhancing the development of men and women football teams, advocating for sponsors to help in financing different football leagues in the country as well as creating football clubs in each district so as to help in spreading the game across the country.“Meeting the 2017 target should not be left to Ferwafa or the Ministry of sports; it is everyone’s (stake holders) responsibility. We shall offer our support such that we can fully achieve this target,” added Habumuremyi.Last year, Prime Minister Habumuremyi outlined targets for sports institutions in the country for the next six years. They included making the national football team among the top 10 on the continent, helping the volleyball and basketball teams to move up to the third positions on the African scene.While it might be difficult to achieve the target of being in the top 10 in five year’s time, it is not completely unattainable.Football, moreover, is the biggest sport in the country and the sport draws many fans, from top government officials to the ordinary fans. Rwanda is the only East African country to have hosted two continental football tournaments, and already has the rights to host the 2016 African Championship.

Sports

PM urges FA to turn game into profitable venture