The 2025/26 Rwanda Premier League season officially kicks off Friday, August 12, as football fans and pundits anticipate to witness another grueling 10 months of football action. The past two seasons were keenly contested and they will go down in the history books of Rwandan football as the two most competitive seasons in years. But the new season could produce even more entertaining and difficult challenge for some clubs to overcome, as new teams vow to fight for the title against the country’s big two: APR FC and Rayon Sports. APR FC will be looking to defend their title after winning it for six consecutive seasons but, after late drama in the 2024/25 league season, Rayon Sports feel like time is now to come back and end their title drought against the army side. Police FC, Mukura VC are also looking to turn themselves from pretenders to title contenders, considering their aggressive spending spree during the just closed transfer market. But wait, the league is coming back with massive reforms which could reshape Rwandan football, with the Rwanda FA now ready to triple prize money for the champions while every team in the top 8 will also pocket their share. In total, while only the champions would take home a prize money of Rwf 25 million, the federation has allocated a staggering Rwf 280 million worth of prize money for the team which will make it in the top 8. Prize money for 2025/26 men’s top tier league will go as follows: Rwf80 million Rwf60 million Rwf40 million Rwf30 million Rwf25 million Rwf20 million Rwf15 million Rwf10 million Total Rwf 280 million Number of foreign players on the field increased Starting from the 2025/26 season, teams playing in the Rwanda Premier League will be allowed to start eight foreign players, up from six which was allowed during the 2024/25 season. However, to ensure football quality of the league, clubs will be required to pay Rwf2,000,000 for every foreign player they want to register. This will take effect from the January 2026 transfer window. Normally, teams could put 10 foreigners on the playing sheet, but the number of players on the field should not exceed six. Gorilla FC kick off campaign against newcomers AS Muhanga Football will come alive again this Friday, September 12, when Gorilla FC and AS Muhanga square off in a fixture which will open the new season of the Rwanda Premier League 2025/26. The pair will face off at Kigali Pele Stadium at 3pm. The biggest fixture of match day 1 match of the league will see Kiyovu host cross town rivals Rayon Sports on Saturday, September 13, at Kigali Pelé Stadium, at 6:30pm. Meanwhile, champions APR FC won’t be able to begin their title defense against Marines on Sunday, September 14 as earlier scheduled. The match will be pushed to another date as the army side is representing Rwanda at CECAFA Kagame Cup in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where they will face Sudan’s Al Hilal Omdurman in the semifinals on Saturday.
