In the wake of the two matches that the national football team lost to the Uganda Cranes in the last couple of days, many soccer lovers in the country were left disappointed as the chances of progressing to the next stage of the world cup qualifiers are done. Amavubi fans and football pundits who follow the national team closely may have spotted faults here and there during the two unsatisfactory matches. There are a number of suggestions about what can be done going forward, and yes, there are things that can be done better, and one of these is: we need to prepare a solid team for the future. I would advise the new Ferwafa boss Olivier Mugabo Nizeyimana and his officials to be robustly supportive of youth football development, so that it can be a conveyer belt that churns out new players every now and then, in order to have diverse talent emerging in the country. There are players in the current national team who have featured for the last ten years, but very little has been achieved, as the country has never qualified for the African Nations Cup since 2004, not to mention that some qualification campaigns have really been unspectacular. This should challenge us to think out of the box. We should ask ourselves important questions like: Are we on the right trajectory for a bright future in football? What can we do going forward? Have we really prepared the players in a satisfactory way? Do we have a plan for nurturing young talented footballers? We should not mind so much about the results at the moment, but we should pay attention to lasting solutions, the key of which is the preparation of the younger generations. We should put in place serious youth football empowerment mechanisms, and give them genuine backing. As part of this, Ferwafa, with support from the Ministry of Sports should give young players more exposure – for example by having them play in good competitions and against top teams in Africa or even beyond. If we really want to nurture these youngsters into serious footballers, we should assist them to play against good opposition from top footballing countries. Investment is needed at this time. As strong teams on the continent are vying for qualification for big tournaments, we, as Rwanda should put our focus on building our football. I know some people seem not to understand when it comes to “trusting the process,” because we are used to shortcuts in things we do. When you look at some big football countries, you realize that they put emphasis on young footballers. You have to produce good results at the youth stage as part of your endeavors to achieve big results in the future. Even when you lose a game or games now, it may not matter a lot. What matters is how you make rise and make your nation a real force in the game. It is high time therefore we took youth football seriously. Also, the time has arguably come for the national team to consider giving more opportunities to the young players. Coach Vincent Mashami should give chances to players like Yves Mugunga, Blaise Nishimwe, Rafael York, Annicet Ishimwe, Keddy Nsanzimfura, Fiacre Ntwari, Lague Byiringiro, Jean-Bosco Ruboneka, Christian Ishimwe, Samuel Gueulette, Fiston Nkezingabo, Jean Bertrand Iradukunda, Martin Twizerimana, Clement Buhake, Ramadhan Niyibizi, Ange Mutsinzi and among others. These players can be an asset for the country in the near future, as we try to build more youngsters who can even be better than them. The author is a sportswriter at The New Times.
