Doubling the number of Rwandan young women playing football by 2025 is one of main objectives highlighted in the recently unveiled strategic development plan for women’s football for the 2022-2025 period. The move is part of football governing body (Ferwafa)’ pledge to make women’s football a priority by breathing new life into the national teams, embarking on a process of renewal for women’s football, and guaranteeing a coherent programme for girls and the women’s game from grassroots to the elite. The ultimate goal is, according to football governing body (Ferwafa) technical director Gerard Buscher, is to raise the standard of Rwanda’s women’s national team. One way they hope to do that is by improving the quality of training sessions and the way in which the game is managed, through the construction of a residential centre at Ferwafa’s head office. “Our men’s and women’s national team will be able to be on site.” Buscher said. “We will be able to bring the biggest talents also, in addition to training for clubs. We also need to raise the level of quality of the coaches. When you do that, you can raise the level of the players. So this is the plan,” he added. The four-year strategic plan was welcomed by many as a major boost for Rwandan women’s football which is at the moment struggling to live up to its expectations from young girls aspiring to become great footballers in the future. Ferwafa has also pledged to double the number of women involved in football development which will also double by December 2024. Ferwafa believes that women's football can’t develop if they are not involved in every activity related to the sport and its development. In doing so, the federation has decided that starting from June, 2023, 30% of the technical staff in the women’s national teams will be female. The federation has also ordered that all elite clubs and all national teams should have a female coach by January 2024. In this plan, Ferwafa has agreed to create opportunities for women participation in football activities and competitions, by ensuring a minimum of 10%participants in courses are female, beginning January, 2023. In addition, the federation aspires to attract former players and other experienced young women to take up roles as coaches, administrators, managers, and leaders in soccer management, in order to bridge the gap between the technical capabilities of women and men in Rwanda. To this end, the federation has dedicated resources to the development of women football and has set up a fully functional women’s football development office with dedicated staff to give special attention and support towards women's football development. Ferwafa’s strategic development plan for women’s football has been two years in the making, a period that involved a number of meetings and workshops held with the idea of generating vital information that could be used to identify key areas and the creation of goals and objectives. That plan comprises 19 objectives and 109 actions to be implemented over the next four years and sets out a vision for building a robust and vibrant women’s football ecosystem that strives for professionalism, integrated training and excellence at every level. Underpinning the strategy are five key areas of action including competitions; youth development and grassroots football; education and skills development; administration and governance; and marketing and sponsorship. The aim is to speed up, and streamline the shaping of a professional and sustainable future for the women’s game in Rwanda and improve opportunities and conditions for its players, coaches and administrators, both on and off the pitch. Ferwafa’s objectives for the next four years are ambitious and include doubling the number of Rwandan girls playing football by 2025, organising more elite competitions, and making football the No. 1 sport for women and girls in Africa. FIFA launched its Women’s Development Programme in September 2020. The programme aims to help its 211 member associations to continue developing the women’s game across the globe. FIFA hopes to see 60 million women and girls worldwide playing the game by 2026
