Police FC chairman Alphonse Munyantwali is on the verge of being elected new president of Rwanda’s football governing body (Ferwafa) as he runs for the top position unopposed ahead of the highly-anticipated polls slated for Saturday, June 24. The former provincial governor will, upon election, succeed outgoing Olivier Mugabo Nizeyimana resigned from office on April 19 citing personal reasons for his decision and now the position is vacant. The next Ferwafa president has an arduous task to revive the dwindling fortunes of football in the country particularly the Amavubi which needs his serious attention as one aspects that football enthusiasts will wish him to prioritise to revive Rwandan football. Times Sport takes a look at five main things that the next FA boss should give priority upon election. Early preparation for 2025 AFCON and World Cup 2026 Early preparation is very key to qualifying for a major tourname nt and the next Ferwafa president should make the 2015 AFCON and the 2026 World Cup his topmost priority.He will be very key in Rwanda's quest to make it to those two competitions as many things rest on him as the Federation boss. Qualification to the World Cup entails a lot, financial motivation for players, adequate preparations among many others. It worked for Ghana in 2006 when former Ghana Football Association Kwesi Nyantakyi was voted into office in 2005. Before his appointment, the nation had never been to the World Cup, he made it his topmost priority and he succeeded. The previously poor way of running the Black Stars became a thing of the past. He brought on Ghana National Petroleum Company to pump money into the team as headline sponsors, players’ bonuses were increased, the team was run well and they made it to Germany 2006 World Cup. Rwanda can’t be an exception at all. The number of participants at the AFCON finals has risen to 24 while the number of African representatives at the World Cup has been doubled to nine and half, up from five, after the FIFA Congress held in Kigali in March decided to increase the number of participants to the world’s most prestigious football tournament to 48, up from 32. If Rwanda made it to AFCON 2004 which at the time attracted 16 nations, it can work for the country to go to the same continental tournament whose participation has been increased by eight more nations. Invest in youth league The bedrock of any national team is the youth league because that is where future stars are made. It is agonizing to note that in 2022, Rwanda withdrew from both the CECAFA U17 and U20 competitions. If there was a running youth league, the country could have raised a team. Building a good youth league also means the country's future is secured in football. It is good that Ferwafa has decided to start the competition next season and the next federation president should make it a priority for the benefit of the future of Rwandan football. It should be managed well and could even attract sponsors. Commercialize football Now football is commercialized as people want to pump money into it as they get great returns. Commercializing Rwanda Premier League should be among the top agendas of the person who will be elected as the new president. Aside from Primus who are the headline sponsors, TV stations such as DSTV, Canal Plus, Star Times and others should be engaged to cover games live as partners. The more people get to know the league; the more investors will be interested. It is reported that each local topflight league teams get only Rwf8,000,000 worth of a share from the Bralirwa sponsorship deal every season, an amount that team claim isn’t fair enough for such a product like Rwanda Premier League. Commercializing football will make football clubs self-reliant and ready to bring in quality players who can have an impact on making Rwandan football more competitive. Encourage club branding, digital marketing Branding is very key in football in the modern era as it is one of the ways to make your club viable and accessible to the rest of the world. There are foreign clubs, agents, scouts, companies who are looking for the next biggest talent to sign, form partnerships and it is how you brand your club and players which will attract people. It is sad to note that, aside APR FC and Rayon Sports, no club in Rwanda has a vibrant and working website. It is very difficult to get information on players, their statistics among other important information. Football now is a big business and clubs must take advantage. The new Ferwafa boss should encourage clubs to have a running website where news about the club, players, their match highlights videos and others are put which would help market the players. But, to make it happen, he will have to start from his office and make sure the FA’s website provides updates consistently after numerous months of irregularities. It is important that Rwandan clubs embrace branding as it helps the players to get good deals abroad which brings money to the club and the league in general. Building a competitive women's football Women's football in Rwanda still has miles to go as they are not given the needed coverage as compared to the male teams. The next Ferwafa boss should make sure that women's football is elevated to higher status. Their games should be shown live and sponsorship should be acquired so that the club's get good money to pay the ladies very well. ALSO READ: Rwandan women playing football to double by 2025 Women football is not like men football where there are many opportunities so if even a player in a women's league in Ghana does not go abroad to play professional football, she still has stability financially while playing in the local league. That’s what Rwandan women footballers need. The next FA president must make sure that they are empowered in all football aspects.
