Former Rwandan international referee Louis Hakizimana has been elected to head the referees commission of the local football governing body (Ferwafa).

Hakizimana, 45, established himself among the best referees Rwanda has ever produced before he called time on his career in 2022 after 17 years of service.

During his career, he handled big matches in various competitions, local and international, including the CAF Champions League, the Confederation Cup, World Cup qualifiers, Africa Olympic Games qualifiers, Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals among other big competitions.

He is also the first Rwandan to have operated the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology during the AFCON 2021 tournament held in Cameroon.

He is among new commissioners that members of the FA voted for during the federation’s extraordinary general assembly held in Kigali on Saturday, January 13.

Hakizimana takes over the commission where he will be assisted by Ambroise Hakizimana who retired from international refereeing in 2022.

He assumes office at a critical moment Rwandan football faces criticisms of controversial refereeing decisions, corruption and match fixing.

Another notable official to have joined FERWAFA is veteran sports journalist Jean Butoyi who was elected vice president of the federation’s Dispute Resolution Commission.

Butoyi, who works for public broadcaster (RBA), is currently president of the Association of Sports Journalists in Rwanda (AJSPOR) and a member of the executive committee of Rwandan Olympic Committee (RNOSC).

Elsewhere, former Rayon Sports Secretary-General Bernard Itangishaka was elected vice-president of the Audit and Law Enforcement Commission.