Kiyovu chairman denies receiving Rwf72m from Nyarugenge District

Kiyovu Sports Club chairman, Robert Sengenge has denied recent media reports that the club received Rwf72m from Nyarugenge District for the upcoming season.

Saturday, July 06, 2013
Kiyovu players warming up before the league match against archrivals Rayon Sports at Amahoro stadium last season. Saturday Sport / File.

Kiyovu Sports Club chairman, Robert Sengenge has denied recent media reports that the club received Rwf72m from Nyarugenge District for the upcoming season.It was reported in the local press and radio sports talk shows last week that Nyarugenge District had agreed to sponsor Kiyovu to a tune of Rwf72m every year but Sendege says nothing has been agreed between both parties.However, the veteran club boss acknowledged that talks are ongoing and is hopeful they will reach an agreement with Nyarugenge District, who in principal are supposed to be the official sponsors for the ‘Green Baggies’ The club has struggled to keep pace with their rivals APR, Rayon Sports, Police  and even the perceived smaller clubs due to financial constraints, sometimes players and coaching staff go for months without pay.But Sendege said that the financial constraints are about to be a thing of the past, as they are in talks with other companies, (in addition to Nyarugenge District), which will help the team."We are in talks with other companies and we hope by next month we will have something to tell the media. At the moment I cannot reveal their names but soon we will give the full information about our partners,” he told this paper recently. "For so long, the club has been facing financial problems but hopefully that will come to an end after we secured sponsorship from Nyarugenge District, and our other partners,” he noted.He also revealed that the club is also in talks with Kicukiro District to come on board as co-sponsors and expectations are high for a positive outcome.He said, "Yes we are looking for new sponsors but we need our fans to help the team. We hope to raise enough money to run the club effectively.”The ‘Green Baggies’ have not won the league since 1993 and is the one of the oldest football clubs in Rwanda.