Rwanda got off to a bright start at the 2026 FIFA World Cup late last year. The national football team (Amavubi) sits on top of Group C with four points from the two games it has played so far: – a goalless draw against Zimbabwe and a 2-0 win against South Africa. Over the years, the team has been criticised for dismal performances. The recent results, however, have given hope to a number of people, that the country can shock the world by making it to the 2026 World Cup that will unfold in the USA, Mexico and Canada. As such talk goes on among fans, officials at the local football federation (Ferwafa) are trying to put effort into preparing for the next matches that will take place in June, and this time, they seem to be doing more, especially in terms of preparing build-up games. Usually, as per CAF and FIFA calendars, there are dates allocated for international friendly games within a year. These are designed to help countries assess their strength and weaknesses, but unfortunately, Rwanda has not been taking enough advantage of them. The last time the country played a friendly game on the FIFA international calendar was in November 2022 against Sudan. In some cases, during the FIFA international friendly schedule, the local league was ongoing. Now, with Rwanda’s impressive start to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Ferwafa seems to be leaving no stone unturned in order to make the most of the opportunity that is available. Times Sport reported that up to Rwf 10billion has already been allocated for Ferwafa’s activities this year, and with this, Amavubi can be well serviced. The upcoming friendly games with Madagascar and Botswana on March 22 and March 25 respectively are expected to play a good role in the team’s preparations for the next phase of the qualifiers. They are anticipated to give coach Torsten Spittler an opportunity to assess players like Steve Rubanguka who is returning into the team after a year of being on the sidelines, as well as new counterparts like Samuel Nsengiyumva, Jean Bosco Akayezu. As the preparations continue, there is good news that foreign-based players like Djihad Bizimana, Hakim Sahabo, Emmanuel Imanishimwe, Fiacre Ntwari, Ange Mutsinzi, Abdul Rwatubyaye are playing regularly for their clubs abroad. After the two friendlies, it is not yet established if the team will play more build-up games until when it faces Benin in Cotonou and Lesotho in either Maseru or South Africa on June 3 and June 10 respectively in 2026 WC qualifiers. The federation and all stakeholders should do their best to make sure that the team gets all the resources and support it needs to make the most of these qualifiers.
