Recently the Rwanda Premier League side, AS Kigali, became the last Rwandan club to be eliminated from the CAF Confederation Cup. They were the country’s only hope to reach the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup. AS Kigali reached the second round in the Confederation Cup where they were beaten 1-0 by Al Nasr while APR was knocked out in the first round when they were humiliated by Monastir 4-0. In 2018, Rayon Sports became the first Rwandan club to progress to the group stage of any CAF club competition after eliminating Clube de Desportos da Costa do Sol of Mozambique in the Confederation Cup playoffs. The nine-time Rwandan champions, who played in the quarter-finals for a historic first time, were eliminated by Enyimba of Nigeria. It was the first time Rwanda had progressed past the group stage of the continent’s second-most prestigious football tournament. But since then, no local club has managed to pass the second round. It is an important sporting philosophy and approach to look at how teams can reach far. It is time for change for the coaches and management. They need to have technical preparations in the big matches. In sports, just like in any battle, it’s a grave mistake to face an opponent without prior knowledge of his technical and physical approach. Every player and coach’s dream is to accomplish something big in football, winning big matches and qualifying for the top tournaments. In Rwanda, it seems they have reached their top level and they need to make a difference, to accomplish something big. If you want to play at a professional level, you need discipline. Football is a game of discipline, individually and collectively. Rwandans are good at playing football but because they are not taught the rules well enough, the sport isn’t taking a step forward. Good coordination for the players is one of the efficient tactical manifestations of the coaches and it helps to raise the level of the clubs. Looking at AS Kigali against Al Nasr, taking a look at the possible outcome from the last matches; AS Kigali had chances to beat Al Nasr but failed to score a goal away which would have changed everything. Meanwhile, ever since it started to play at the CAF Competitions in 1995, the army side has been struggling to shine. The club’s displays at the continental competition still look less sharp than their performances in Africa. It is reported that APR has a Rwf 3billion budget each season to prepare for the league, Peace Cup, CAF competitions, salaries, bonuses, accommodations, and many other things. Experience has shown that no Rwandan team has eliminated an Arab team in CAF inter-club competitions. So, people need to change their approach to the games. Last season, APR fell to a surprise early elimination in the first round of the Champions League against Kenya’s Gor Mahia. This shows that APR are still underdogs in the African competitions. The military side’s best campaign in the Champions League was in the 2004 when they reached the third round under the stewardship of the late Jean Marie Ntagwabira. Since then, the country’s most successful club has faltered in the continent’s elite competition. APR FC continues to suffer a winning drought after failing to reach the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup. The club has continuously failed to reach the group stages. In previous appearances, the military side dropped out of the competition either in the preliminary or first rounds except in 2004 when they reached the third round but lost to an Ivorian side on penalties. The prizes of the competitions are high. The Champions League winners currently receive $1.5 million and the Confederation Cup winners $660,000. Local clubs’ biggest weakness is the lack of natural goal scorers. To qualify for group stages in major tournaments, you need to win more than you lose. And to win big matches, you need to score goals because goals win matches. Which is why Rwandan clubs have struggled to return to the CAF Confederation Cup and Champions League group stages. They don’t have enough goal scorers in the team. At the moment, there is not a single promising striker coming through. It’s a worrying situation given that it’s an open secret that clubs lack strikers or even a good scoring midfielder, who can take on future scoring responsibilities which will also benefit the national team, Amavubi. The teams that want to put up a good showing at major continental tournaments should not concede four goals in one game like APR did against Monastir. This is one of the consequences of the ‘Rwandans-only’ recruitment policy that has been promoted by some of the country’s top football clubs. It’s years now since APR, Rayon Sports, AS Kigali, Police FC, and other clubs signed foreign or naturalized players. If we want to see a change in the football arena in Rwanda, we must invest heavily in the sport. This begins with the clubs before pointing fingers elsewhere. What is a national policy on soccer all about? It means the government is closely monitoring the progression of football talent, where we are as a country, where we want to be within the timeframe we have agreed upon, and so on. There is a big problem of flip-flopping when dealing with talents. There should be soccer academies in Rwanda where youngsters explore their talent. Each school in the country should have sports grounds. Villages should have football grounds where people meet and play soccer every evening. There is no shortcut to success. Having a team that can take local clubs to big tournaments on the continent and beyond requires that we start right from the ground upwards. Taking football seriously means we are creating a source of employment and national heroes. Encouraging our young generation to concentrate on productive and healthy activities is saving them from vices such as alcoholism and idleness.
