The glamorous 2021 AFCON came to an end on Sunday, February 6, 2022 with the Teranga Lions of Senegal defeating seven-time champions Egypt on penalties to lift Africa’s most coveted football prize for the first time in their history. Certainly, the AFCON in Cameroon was a roller coaster with some countries who were hitherto perceived as minnows on the African continent pulling surprises. It took host nation Cameroon who were one of the favorites to end the fairy tale story of debutantes Gambia in the quarter finals after they had tormented the likes of Mali, Guinea and others. Equatorial Guinea who were one of the least ranked teams before the tournament also defeated Algeria and Mali before succumbing to eventual winners Senegal in the quarter finals. Comoros Island who were also making their debut achieved an enviable feat by defeating Ghana to get to the second round before Cameroon struggled to beat them in the round of 16 even though they had sixteen players out with Covid-19 and had to use an outfield player as a goalkeeper. The dream of every nation in Africa is to make it to the continent’s biggest global football competition and Rwanda is no exception as it offers a great platform for talents to be highlighted, puts the nation on the world soccer map and of course brings ecstasy and joy to citizens. The last time Rwanda made it to the tournament was eighteen years ago in Tunisia where the Amavubi put up a brave fight by defeating DR Congo, drawing with Guinea and losing to Tunisia. They were just unlucky not to have secured a second round berth as DR Congo drew with Guinea in the last group game. Over the years, Rwanda has failed to replicate the success of the golden generation comprising Olivier Karekezi, Jimmy Gatete, Eric Nshimiyimana, Jimmy Mulisa and others as they have not made it to the competition since then. Next year offers the Amavubi another chance to re-write history by making it to the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast and also going past the group stage. The exploits of Gambia, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone in the 2021 AFCON has really shown that if the Amavubi do their homework well, they can be there. Rwanda is even ranked above all those countries in the world football ranking. Success can never be achieved on a silver platter and for the Amavubi to realise their dreams of making it to the next AFCON, preparations must start now. “We did not fear any team since we had played many of the top sides in Africa and also European teams in friendly games so this built the confidence of my boys. These were the exact words of Gambia manager Tom Saintfiet after his side defeated Mali in the round of 16. Taking a cue from what the Belgian gaffer said, preparations are key and this is what Ferwafa and the Amavubi need to do to make it to the AFCON in Ivory Coast. The Amavubi must play high profile friendly matches against top teams on the continent or globally to boost the confidence of the players. Again, proper scouting should be done, lots of quality players of Rwandan descent are scattered all over the globe, there must be a thorough scouting to get all of them no matter where they are playing as long as they are regular. Comoros presented a team with players from the French lower tier leagues and they did wonders which included seeing off four-time champions Ghana. Furthermore, the players must be ready to play with passion, commitment and take it as an honor to play for the nation. Once the players have a good mindset, they should be ready to sacrifice and do their maximum best for the nation to be in Ivory Coast next year. Again, the Amahoro stadium or the Kigali stadium which will host the Amavubi home games should they qualify to that stage should be a fortress. They must be ruthless at home by defeating any team no matter the opposition. Jimmy Gatete and others did it in 2003 by defeating a star studded Ghana side and this generation can follow suit. With proper planning and coaching, Rwanda can play again at the biggest stage of African football.
