Gregoire Muramira Youthful football league side Isonga FC will not be disbanded despite being relegated from the National Football League, according to the club president Gregoire Muramira. Innocent Seninga’s side finished bottom of the table standings with 18 points from 26 games having won just two games but Muramira confirmed that the state-sponsored team will continue to exist. “Isonga will remain intact and will continue to help children develop their football talent. We are going to continue scouting for more players across the country because we will release some during the transfer period,” explained Muramira. Muramira added that, “We are happy because we have produced great players. What I can say is that the top five teams (APR, AS Kigali, Police, Sunrise and Rayon Sports) are coming to inquire about our players. So, it is something positive even if we are not going to play in the top division this season.” He further added that, “We are going to select a technical person in football, who will travel around the country to identify other children who will play for the team in the second division next season because many of the players we have are going to join top teams.” The youthful side was founded in 2011 mainly comprising of players from the Rwanda U-17 team that featured in the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup finals in Mexico and is funded by the Ministry of Sports and Culture (MINISPOC) and Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA). In a story published by *The New Times* on October 06, 2014, FERWAFA president Vincent Degaule Nzamwita was quoted saying that Isonga will be disbanded after the 2014/2015 season. He said, “Isonga FC will cease to be in existence after the next season because we want to concentrate on developing the U-15 youth programmes across the country. We want to identify at least 300 new players every year, and Isonga can only cater for 30, which is too small a number considering the number we want to have.” editorial@newtimes.co.rw
