A full squad is needed to win Amavubi wars

After coming from behind twice to draw with Uganda Cranes, on Wednesday, there is something that came to my mind--what stops us from fielding a strong team in any match, be it friendly or competitive?A full squad is needed to win Amavubi wars. I’m referring to a full squad because anything short of that, leaves the team with no competition for playing time. Players such as Steven Godfroid [Olympic Charleroi-Belgium], Kalisa Mao [TP Mazembe-DRC], Jonas Nahimana [AFC Leopards-Kenya], Dady Birori [AS Vita-DRC], Elias Uzamukunda [AS Cannes-France], Olivier Karekezi [AS Bizertin-Tunisia], Charles Tibingana [Victoria-Uganda], Jimmy Mulisa [Osotspa-Thailand], Jean Paul Lutula [Al Mu’aidar-Qatar], Lewis Aniweta [APEP FC-Cyprus], and Edwin Oun [AEL Limassol-Cyprus]to mention but a few were all ignored while some had their own reasons for not honouring the call for the friendly match.The idea of giving a chance to upcoming players like Michel Rusheshangoga and Papy Sibomana is a good idea but with their little experience, they will not contain teams like Mali or Algeria which have squads full of European-based players if we certainly need positive results to move ahead and be able to get back to the big stage. This is not a one-man team show for the federation or the Ministry of Sports and Culture to own the national team. Rwandans should be concerned about their team and if it doesn’t provide results, let it be accountable to Rwandans.If coach Sredojovic Milutin Micho and skipper Olivier Karekezi fail to guide the team to Nations’ Cup finals when given the needed resources, they should come back to Rwandans and be accountable to the nation.Some of the professional players find it a challenge leaving their clubs to come and play for Amavubi where they will only get $700. It is understandable; this money is little to a professional player who is used to hefty sums and bonuses.Rwandans can start up a an Amavubi initiative aimed at helping the government meet other neglected expenses which count a lot to a national team’s performances.We all know how much the government injects in a single Amavubi match, lots of millions of Rwandan francs are spent but it is not enough because football is an expensive game, so a financial back-up is needed to help raise the support the team needs ahead of international games. This initiative would also focus only on the welfare of the Amavubi as a team. It would aim to make Amavubi more competitive and make the players proud of donning the SHIRT. Amavubi is not a Ferwafa or Minispoc-item, thus the Amavubi Initiative should be about the Amavubi as a team - our team as Rwandans. It is not about Rwandan football in general, nor is it about football administration in Rwanda. It is about what Rwandans can do to resurrect Amavubi’s real stinging prowess so they can achieve our dreams.Ten years ago, we were ruling the region as far as Fifa rankings [89 in 2005 and 99 in 2004] were concerned, but today we are placed at the bottom-137th coming behind in the region. It is possible to come from where we are today and bounce back or surpass where we were, but this won’t happen if we continue neglecting demands of our experienced players.Let the young players feature in their own age categories and if they are able to convince the technical staff, then let them fight for places with the senior players and the better will earn a final slot on the national team but don’t deny anyone a chance to play for heir country over malicious interests.But don’t convince Rwandans that these young players are the only reliable players the country boasts yet you [Ferwafa] have ignored senior and experienced players all yearning for national team call.