Rayon Sport are set to start pre-season training this week for the forthcoming 2021/22 league season which kicks off on October 16. The club has written to the local football governing body (Ferwafa) requesting to resume training under preventive guidelines of Covid-19. Club spokesperson, Jean Paul Nkurunziza, told Times Sport that the club is ready to start training sessions immediately if they are given permission. “We submitted our request to Ferwafa so we can be allowed to start training and we are supposed to get the response today [Monday]. The team is ready to start,” he said in an interview. The club will start training without head coach Djuma Masoudi who was gien compassionate leave after losing his father last week. Meanwhile, Assistant coach Marcel Lomami will be in charge of training sessions until Masudi returns. New signings? After securing the services of midfielders Muhammed Mushimiyimana, François Mugisha, Trésor Byumvuhore, striker Justin Mico and Jean Marie Vianney Muvandimwe as well as Isaac Nsengiyumva who signed last week from Ugandan top flight club Express, the club is still trying to secure more reinforcements before the season starts in October. With just 22 players out of a possible 28 required to be registered at Ferwafa, the club is now looking for six new signings. “We are planning to buy six more players before the season starts. The transfer market is still open and we are scouting for more players that we can sign before it closes. We have just one foreign player in the squad and the club has players on the shortlist that it plans to sign. We will announce them in due time,” Nkurunziza said. After finishing seventh in the 2020/21 league season, Rayon Sports wants to start the new season with a new target, mainly winning the league title which they last won during the 2018/19 season. Club supporters were not impressed by Rayon’s performance last season and have been requesting the club management to step down should they fail to build a club ready to compete for the league title with the likes of league champions APR and AS Kigali. They, for instance protested against the club’s intent of selling its top players to its rival clubs following the transfers of Gilbert Mugisha to APR FC and Herve Rugwiro who moved to AS Kigali as well as letting Congolese Heritier Luvumbu switch to Angolan side Primeiro de Agosto despite playing a pivotal role in the club’s campaign last season. Things went from bad to worse when the fans realized that club midfielder Blaise Nishimwe was forcing a move to APR FC after his club failed to pay his arrears worth Rwf 1.5m. The club has not been performing well but Nkurunziza said that the management is doing all it can to ensure they can challenge for trophies. “We are aware that the supporters were unhappy but the management is doing their best to make sure the team can win trophies next season.” he said.
