AS Kigali WFC coach Theogenie Mukamusonera has dropped the bombshell, claiming that the team has benefited nothing better from the late appointment of Burundian coach Daniella Niyibimenya as new head coach other than a shock early elimination from the 2023 CAF Women’s Champions League. Niyibimenya was in charge as the Citizens suffered two straight defeats at the hands of Kenyan side Vihiga Queen and Tanzania’s JKT Queens during the CECAFA CAF Women's Champions League qualifiers going on in Njeru, Uganda, which were enough to bow out of the competition in early stages. READ ALSO: AS Kigali bow out of Women’s Champions League It was not the performance that Mukamusonera expected from a coach who, she said, changed everything that she had built instead of building on the progress she had made with the team before she joined. “She came and brought in new tactics and new systems and deployed some players out of their respective positions. That's simply why we got kicked out of the tournament so early,” Mukamusonera told Weekend Sport on Thursday, August 17. Mukamusonera, who holds a CAF License C, was not qualified to coach AS Kigali at the CAF Champions League despite leading the team to the 2022/23 league title. Only head coaches with at least CAF B License are qualified to take charge of a team in any CAF competition. That prompted the club management to hire a qualified coach in Burundian gaffer Niyibimeya who, Mukamusonera claims, never showed any interest in working with her to achieve the club’s goals. READ ALSO: AS Kigali beaten in Women’s Champions League qualifier She pointed out that appointing a head coach at the last minute affected the club’s performances in Uganda. “We were given a new head coach with less than a day before we travel to Uganda for the competition. The same applies to the fitness coach and goalkeepers’ coach,” claims Mukamusonera. “They had not been involved in any training until the match day but the main problem is that the new head coach never approached me nor did she seek my advice or ideas as a coach who had been with the players throughout the preparations.” The record 12th time Rwandan champions will play their last group stage fixture against Zanzibar’s New Generation on Saturday, August 19.
