APR FC head coach Taleb Abderrahim has taken a swipe at rivals Rayon Sports after guiding his side to the 2026 Peace Cup title, joking that the club could sack head coach Francis Haringingo following another defeat to APR. APR retained the Peace Cup after beating Rayon Sports 4–2 on penalties following a 1–1 draw in regulation time. Rayon Sports opened the scoring in the first half through Asman Ndikumana before APR responded after the break with an equaliser from William Togui Mel, forcing the final into a penalty shootout that ended in favour of the army side. ALSO READ: APR beat Rayon Sports on penalty shootouts to retain Peace Cup Speaking after the match, Abderrahim claimed Rayon Sports have developed a pattern of changing coaches after defeats to APR. “I know Rayon Sports very well. Every time I beat them, they change the coach. I beat them 3–0, they changed the coach. I beat them 4–1, they changed the coach. Today, I think they are going to change the coach again,” Abderrahim said. The APR coach insisted his side controlled the match and executed their game plan effectively. “We were the team that played football for 90 minutes and created many chances. Apart from the penalty they scored, they did nothing else. We knew their tactics and that’s what I told my players at half time. My players behaved like soldiers.” The Peace Cup triumph marks Abderrahim’s third trophy since taking charge of APR, having already won the Super Cup and the BK Pro League title. Rayon Sports, meanwhile, have endured repeated managerial changes following defeats to APR in recent seasons. During the 2025/26 campaign alone, Harouna Ferouz was dismissed after a 3–0 league loss, while predecessor Lotfi Afahmia was also suspended during the same period. Bruno Ferry later departed after a 4–1 Super Cup defeat and was replaced by Haringingo. Now under mounting pressure, Haringingo admitted his side lost focus after a promising start. “We played good football in the beginning, but we lost concentration. The goal they scored was our mistake — the defenders were not well positioned. We will take it as a lesson and prepare for the next matches,” Haringingo said. The Burundian coach could also come under further scrutiny if Rayon Sports fail to secure at least a second-place finish in the BK Pro League enough to qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup next season, with Police FC and Kiyovu SC still in contention.
