The hooliganism that erupted at the Bugesera Stadium during the Rwanda Premier League game between Rayon Sports and Bugesera FC last Saturday, when the game was stopped into the 52nd minute after fans started raining stones on the pitch allegedly aiming at the match officials, naturally raises the question. What has gone wrong with Rwandan football? It is a serious question; one with deep-rooted issues whose answers, in my humble opinion, will require powers beyond what the local football federation, Ferwafa, has. One can even argue the Ministry of Sport on its own would find it devilishly hard to get to the bottom of, and root out the issues that plague football in this country. The underlying, entrenched problems are such that, to properly investigate and come up with real answers, government in fact will need to set up a well-funded commission of inquiry. I think to find the answers one first has to examine, honestly and objectively, the nature of the rivalry between the fans of the “Big Two” – that is APR FC, and Rayon Sports. This is a very intense rivalry. There isn’t anything else like it in Rwandan soccer. It isn’t a rivalry merely about fans of one team hating on those of others, for reasons one will find elsewhere. It’s not about geographic affiliation. It’s not about the hate of one set of fans for another because of perceived historical grievances, such as one will find in some European or Latin American countries. What we have here, which is something that has to be tackled, before it’s too late I think, is that a divisive ideology beyond sport has been creeping into the APR-Rayon Sports. Those that would want to do harm to the unity Rwanda is trying to build between its people for example, can find no better gateway through this than exploiting perceived differences between supporters of the Big Two. Now, I want to state that I am being very careful in writing this. I am not interested in penning anything that can, or may cause wrong perceptions. Even then, I have been following the fan rivalry between supporters of military side APR, and those of Rayon Sports for so long I am certain I cannot be wrong about what I have personally seen and observed over the years. At worst, the Rayon Sports fan base (and we have to be careful here because there are supporters with different attitudes that may differ from those of so many others) has been made to believe that “APR is favoured because they are ‘the army’, and therefore ‘the government.’” Now, this allegation in itself wouldn’t be something to raise concern. But then you also have a situation whereby the military side has been most associated with not only the military, but – extended further – to even those “returnees to Rwanda” that first stepped into the country in the period after the war and Genocide of the Tutsi in 1994. The unfortunate reality is that some people won’t be above exploiting our unfortunate past, to find something to blame for whatever grievances some may have, even when they base their grievances on patently false grounds. Many that associate, or that are associated with APR and its fan base are (unfairly) branded to be of “the privileged section” of Rwanda’s society. It matters very little that this is a completely false generalisation. Some will believe it wholeheartedly. APR, we are made to believe “has everything handed to them on a plate because of who they are”, allegedly through “match-fixing” – though APR, when you look at the stats, has a superior squad. But in the heat of emotions logic is the first thing to be jettisoned. (The Rayon fans that allegedly threw stones at match officials accused them of biased officiating to help Bugesera upset their team, since that would help APR stay top of the table. It was an accusation based on nothing but emotions, and no carefully considered information). Now, this isn’t the first we’ve heard the Rayon fan base directing such an accusation at Rwandan football officials. Moreover, it reeks of accusations of oppression. Taken together over the years, we may find we are on a slippery slope to serious divisionism. The average Rayon fan, from the lowest rungs of Rwandan society, probably hates on their APR counterparts with these falsehoods in their hearts. One can also be certain that not a few APR supporters harbour bad feelings for rival Rayon diehards based on equally misinformed sentiments. It doesn’t help that certain media (both traditional broadcasters and social media) personalities maybe amplifying the negative sentiments. One can’t repeat it enough: all this is as dangerous as its false. There are many who support Rayon that identify as “returnees.” The same applies with APR, with lots of fans amongst those that were “originally in Rwanda.” But, with sentiments skewing so dangerous we now see stone-throwing riots at stadiums, the authorities better step in with bold, decisive actions. Before it’s too late.
