The World Amputee Football Federation (WAFF) on Thursday, March 16, launched the women’s amputee football program in Rwanda in an event held at Kigali Pele Stadium.
The inauguration ceremony, which took place on the sidelines of the 73rd FIFA Congress, was attended by re-elected FIFA President Giani Infantino, Polish amputee footballer and FIFA Puskas award winner 2023 Marcin Oleksy, Paris Saint-Germain legend Youri Djorkaeff and Rwandan Sports Minister Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju among other officials.
Launching the program, WAFF Executive Director Georg Schlachtenberger, hailed the progress that Rwanda has made in the sport while also ensuring inclusiveness by extending it to women.
"Rwanda has two professional players playing in the Turkish Amputee football league and it shows how fast the sport is growing in the country. With such progress, we hope that the sport can also grow quickly in the country,” he said.
There are four women’s amputee football teams in Rwanda compared to seven men’s teams. The teams, despite a low participation, are participating in the league which is in its first edition.
Audace Rugwiro, the president of Rwanda Amputee Football Association welcomed WAFFA’s move to extend the sport to women which started in Rwanda in the past months.
"we are excited for this as Rwanda, a country which supports gender equality. We have four women’s teams from different districts and it gives us motivation to dream big and positively because we are leading the region in men’s sport,” he said.
After playing with Rwandan amputee footballers during the event, FIFA Puskas Award winner Oleksy said that he was impressed by the level of the game that he witnessed from Rwanda players.
"I really like the level of the game. Of course, in Poland, we have been playing this game for a long time, like in Turkey. We need to help you improve this game, but the level is really high. So, probably, Rwanda will soon be a country ready to compete in the World Cup,” he said.
Amputee Football is one of the fastest-growing sports around the world with over 50 countries now full members of World Amputee Football Federation (WAFF), made up of five continents and over 5,000 players.