Rwanda’s Fidele Gatete has said that he and his countrymen Jean-Paul Ntambara, and Patrick Imanirutabyose are eager to impress when the Turkish Amputee Football league returns in November.
The trio currently plays their professional Amputee Football in Turkey and are teammates at first division side Pendik Belediyesi.
The league commences on November 12 and the players hope to help the team improve their performance compared to last season’s fourth place finish with 46 points.
The club has been in good shape during the preseason and, as the new season edges closer, the players believe they can this time round help the club defy the odds and win the league title.
"After a number of preseason friendly games, we can now confirm we are ready for the new season. We have prepared well and we are very happy for the team we have right now,” former Musanze Amputee FC forward Fidele Gatete told Times Sport.
"We have had enough in the last few weeks. Players are in great shape and upbeat for the new season. We are training well and we are happy with the life here because this game has started to change some things in our lives,” he added.
ALSO READ: Amputee Football: Rwandan duo enjoying pro stint in Turkey
Last season, Gatete finished the league campaign with 4 goals and two assists while Patrick Imanirutabyose netted 5 goals and had four assists. Ntambara joined the team in the return leg where he provided six assists.
The Rwanda Amputee Football skipper admits that he and his countrymen play in a very tough and competitive league which is at the highest level because it is the first Amputee Football Championship in the world.
ALSO READ: Amputee Football: Rwanda's Gatete, Imanirutabyose join Turkish club
The opportunity to play for a professional team is a reward for the impressive performance the three players showed at different competitions in the domestic league and Cecafa tournament held in Tanzania which Rwanda won.
At the time, in 2019, Rwanda beat Kenya 2-1 in the final of the Amputee Tournament for East and Central Region which took place in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
ALSO READ: Ntambara targets Amputee Championship top scorer accolade
Amputee Football is played with seven players on each team, six outfield players, and one goalkeeper.
Outfield players use crutches and play without their prostheses. Players may have two hands but only one leg, whereas goalkeepers may have both feet but only one hand while players may not use crutches to advance, control, or block the ball.
The pitch measures a maximum of 70 by 60 meters. The dimensions of the goalposts are 2.2 meters maximum (height) by 5.0 meters maximum (width) by 1.0 meter (depth).
The game was introduced in Rwanda in 2015. It is played in eight districts countrywide involving 80 players.