Byiringiro signs for Swedish side Sandviken IF
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Amavubi Striker Lague Byiringiro. Swedish third tier side Sandviken IF has announced the signing of Rwanda international Lague Byiringiro on a four-year deal. File

Swedish third tier side Sandviken IF has announced the signing of Rwanda international Lague Byiringiro on a four-year deal.

Byiringiro, 22, joins the Ettan Division League side from Rwandan champions APR FC on an undisclosed fee.

The fast-rising forward is expected to fill the shoes of Ghanaian striker Mohammed Naeem Abu who netted 25 league goals for the club last season before he was sold to Premier Division club Halmstad BK.

"I am very much looking forward to trying to help Sandviken," Byiringiro told the club's website after signing the contract.

Byiringiro joins fellow countryman Yannick Mukunzi who moved to the club from Rayon Sports in 2019.

Sandviken IF qualified to the second league promotion playoff last season but failed to secure one of the tickets.

Byiringiro has been a key figure in APR’s recent fortunes, having helped the club win four league titles. He was part of the team that set a historical record of going 50 league matches unbeaten between July 2019 and February 2021.

At 20, he was first called up to the senior national team that played Ivory Coast during a Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in March 2019.

He made his senior international debut on 26 January 2021, as a substitute to then injured Bertrand Iradukunda, during Rwanda’s 3–2 group stage victory over Togo in the 2020 African Nations Championship.