Many people in Rwanda are wondering how the national football team, nicknamed “Amavubi” (The Wasps), can become strong again like it used to be. The team’s current performance has left many fans wishing for a return to past successes.
The Rwandan Football Federation (FERWAFA) was started in 1972, ten years after Rwanda became an independent nation. Six years later, it became a member of FIFA, the world’s football governing body.
Today, Amavubi sits at 130th in the world rankings and 40th in Africa. Many believe this ranking is too low for a country with so much passion for football. This situation raises a big question: Can Rwanda’s younger football stars be the key to bringing back the team’s glory days?
Samir Sylvestre Nsanzimana, a well-known sports journalist from B&B FM in Rwanda, recently shared his thoughts on Rwandan football talents on The Choice Live. He believes the answer lies in investing in youth.
“Rwandan football leaders need to remember how ISONGA FC helped young Rwandan players develop their skills,” Sylvestre said. He pointed out how this club played a crucial role in nurturing talents that later shone.
He also highlighted the importance of school competitions. “Interscolaire competitions were one of the best tournaments that helped Rwandan players shine,” Samir added. “Not only did these competitions help individual players grow, but the national team also gained new talents from them.” These school tournaments were once a strong pipeline for new players for Amavubi.
However, Samir also brought up a current challenge: the lack of football fields. “Nowadays, there is a problem of football infrastructure,” Samir explained. He gave the example of Kacyiru, an area where there isn’t a single playground. Without proper places to play, it becomes very difficult to find and develop talented young players in those areas.
Despite these challenges, there are promising initiatives. Through the “Visit Rwanda” program, new projects are emerging to develop young talents, often through partnerships with big international club academies. For instance, Rwanda now hosts academies from world-renowned teams like Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. This program aims to give young Rwandan players top-level training and boost their potential.
It’s not just foreign academies contributing. Clubs in the Rwanda Premier League are now required to have youth teams, ensuring that talents are nurtured from a young age within the local league system. There’s also a dedicated youth league (Ferwafa Youth League) designed to give young players competitive experience.
FERWAFA and the Ministry of Sports in Rwanda (MINISPORTS) have also started a system to identify talented Rwandan players who are playing abroad. The goal is to bring these players into the national team, helping Amavubi rise again.
Amavubi has had moments of glory in the past. The Rwanda men’s National team, then called RWANDA B, won the CECAFA Kagame Cup in 1999 with a 3-1 victory against Kenya. This shows that success is achievable.
With a renewed focus on building from the ground up – through strong youth programs, better infrastructure, and bringing in Rwandan talents from across the globe – there is a strong belief that these younger stars can indeed lift Amavubi back to its glory days and shine brightly on the international stage once more.
