Rutsiro FC president Ernest Nsanzineza has denied claims that the club may be looking for a new coach to replace Moussa Gatera. Gatera’s future at Rutsiro FC as head coach was on the line since the club decided the suspend him after its officials were unimpressed by the ‘poor performance’ displayed last season, particularly during their 5-0 demolition at the hands of APR FC at Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu on April 26. The coach spent less than a week on the sidelines before he returned to the club’s touchline to coach the remaining games of the 2024/25 league campaign. Reports had linked Gatera to a move out of Rutsiro FC who were considering to hire Emmanuel Ruremesha as his replacement while the former was linked to a move to Etincelles who are without a coach since the departure of Innocent Seninga at the end of the season. However, club president Nsanzineza dismissed the claims and made it clear that they have no plan to sack the coach who helped the club finish in the ninth place. He confirmed to Times Sport that the coach will coach the club during the 2025/26 season since he has an active contract running until June 2026. “We have plans to continue with Coach Gatera because he still has one year left on his contract. He hasn’t request to leave the club nor did we tell him to leave,” Nsanzineza said. “We don’t know where the current rumors (about Gatera’s exit) are coming from. He signed a two-year deal with us, and only one year has passed. So, we are not in talks with any other coach at the moment,” he added. He acknowledged that although the club did not achieve all its goals under Gatera, the challenges were not solely the coach's fault. “We didn’t achieve everything we had hoped for with the coach, but we can’t place all the blame on him. District-funded teams often face major financial challenges,” he explained. ALSO READ: Lomami brothers, Haruna, Mulisa in Rwanda legends squad for Uganda friendly Rutsiro FC finished the 2024/25 season with 26 players with the team but only 15 still have valid contracts. Three of the remaining players are being considered for contract renewals, while the others have been released. “We are in talks with three players that could finish a contract, Amza Nkubito, Jonas Malikidogo, and Jean Kabula and if all goes well, they will sign new contracts. The others have been informed to look for new clubs,” he said. Club’s top scorer Yves Habimana one year remaining on his contract but Nsanzimana said the club will be ready to hear offers from clubs interested in his services. ALSO READ: Rutsiro FC suspend coach Gatera, goalie Matumele after APR humiliation Based Western region of the country, Rutsiro FC play their home matches at Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu District as the club doesn’t have a stadium that meet standards required by the Rwanda FA. The club will resume training in mid-July just days after the general assembly. The district contributes at least Rwf250 million to the club’s budget per season.
