Rayon Sports Board President Paul Muvunyi has admitted that the club’s squad lacked the quality to mount a serious challenge against rivals APR FC and it haunted them when they lost the 2024/25 league title in the final sprint. The Blues were favourite to win the title ahead of APR and they were determined to end their five-year title jinx. Even after losing their star striker Fall Ngagne to a serious injury in February, new signing Abbedy Biramahire stepped in to fill his shoes upfront. However, the squad had quantity rather than quality and it cost them dearly in the final three matches of the campaign. Muvunyi acknowledged that the team he found in place upon his return to the club wasn’t built to compete at the highest level. “To be honest, last season’s squad wasn’t good enough. It was a team we found in transition,” he told the media during a press conference in Kigali on Tuesday, July 8. “The fact that we managed to finish second and reach a cup final was down to the effort of the leadership at the time, led by Thaddée Twagirayezu. But when you compare our team with APR’s position by position, there was a clear gap.” Rayon Sports led the Primus National League table for several weeks but eventually finished four points behind champions APR FC. They also fell 2-0 to APR in the Peace Cup final. However, Muvunyi expressed optimism about the current rebuilding efforts, assured that the new squad they are building will be more competitive. “We’re building something solid now. You’ve often asked us what our secret is—this time, I’d rather let our results do the talking,” he said. While recognizing APR’s current strength, Muvunyi also argued that Rayon Sports should never be a club that gets intimidated by their rivals. “There’s no reason why APR should fear Rayon Sports, but the fact that they still feel the pressure from us shows we remain relevant. That alone says a lot,” he noted. APR and Rayon will both represent the country in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup. each team will receive $100,000 (more than Rwf144 million) from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to prepare for their respective continental competitions.
