The national women’s senior football team, She-Amavubi, will start residential camp on Saturday, July 9 at La Palisse Hotel ahead of their friendly against Tanzania set for July 16 at Amahoro Stadium. The friendly match against Tanzania’s Twiga Stars is part of scheduled activities of the 27th African Union Summit to be held in Kigali from July 10 to 18. Despite being a friendly game, head coach Grace Nyinawumuntu finds the encounter important for her team and players especially after two years out of action. The last time the team regrouped was in 2014 in the AFCON 2015 qualifiers when Rwanda saw off Kenya in the first round before heavily losing 12-1 to Nigeria in the second round. In a telephone interview with Times Sport on Tuesday, Nyinawumuntu said, “The friendly against Tanzania is a good test, we need to take the game seriously and work very hard in residential camp. Players are in upbeat mood,” she said. She noted that Tanzania’s U17 team has been at the U17 FIFA World Cup while their senior team has qualified for AFCON three, if not four times. “They are a great team, we will have to be very serious and mentally strong to stop them.” When asked if her team will compete in the upcoming inaugural women’s CECAFA to be staged in Uganda, Nyinawumuntu said that the local football federation has not notified her. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
