Although Rwandan football is not faring well on the continental and international scene, there are still some aspects to be proud about as far as representation on the big stage is concerned.
Here, the achievements being made by local female football referee Salma Mukansanga, are something that bring a sense of pride among fans of the game in the country.
The 30-year old is going places in her profession after being selected to officiate at the 2022 Africa cup of nations.
Weekend Sport looks at the highlights of Mukansanga’s refereeing career so far.
Women’s World Cup 2019
Mukansanga was one of only three African referees at the 2019 FIFA women’s World cup along with Gladys Lengwe of Zambia and Ethiopia’s Lidya Tafesse Abebe.
She is also expected to be among candidates for the upcoming 2023 edition of the competition that will take place in Australia-New Zealand.
2020 Olympics Games
She also officiated at the 2020 Olympics that took place this year after they were postponed by the World Olympic Committee due to the coronavirus pandemic.
She was in charge of games like the defeat of Chile by the British national team.
She is the first female Rwandan referee to officiate a football match during the Olympics games.
2018 U17 women’s World cup
She was the sole African match official at the U17 Women’s World Cup 2018.
All Africa Games 2015
Mukansanga’s first international tournament was the women’s football competition at the 2015 All-Africa games in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
Among others, she was in charge of the opening match between Nigeria and Tanzania, and the semi-final clash between Ghana and Ivory Coast.
2016 Women’s African Cup of Nations
In 2016, Mukansanga was among the 47 referees that handled the Africa Women Cup of nations in Cameroon, and was in charge of the tournament’s final match between the hosts and Nigeria, which ended 1-0 in favor of the Super Falcons of Nigeria.
2015 Cecafa women tournament
Also in 2015, she was one of the referees that handled the 2015 CECAFA Women Challenge Cup that took place in Jinja, Uganda – which was won by Tanzania.