The government is targeting to have five international football stadiums in the next five years, according to the Ministry of Sports. The new stadiums are expected to be either built or revamped in places including Muhanga District, Kigali, and Nyanza. Speaking during the sports breakfast last week, Zephanie Niyonkuru, the Permanent Secretary at MINISPORTS, revealed that Rwanda will do everything possible to achieve the targeted infrastructure projects in the next five years. The facilities include Amahoro Stadium which is currently under renovation to raise its capacity to 45,000 people from an initial 25,000, as well as Kigali and Huye stadiums which are also expected to be revamped. Muhanga and Nyanza stadiums are also set for renovation. Studies have been done, Niyonkuru said. Regarding the new stadium to be built in Muhanga, Minister Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju, said that the Government of Rwanda has provided the land while the construction works and the funds will be mobilized by World Football governing body (FIFA) in collaboration with Confederation of African Football (CAF). “Muhanga has been selected by FIFA as part of the body’s plan to build high-standard stadiums for its member associations,” Munyagaju said. “We participated in that program as Rwanda, and we committed to provide land where the stadium will be built. It is not the Government of Rwanda who will build the facility because it is among the programs that must be financed through FERWAFA,” she added. Concerning the timeline of the stadium completion, Munyagaju said, “We have accepted the land. What is left is that Ferwafa gives what is required, and then they will be given what we pledged.” The Ministry of Sports did not give a deadline for when all these stadiums could be available because they will be built in different phases, but it is said that all the projects will have been completed by 2028. There were reports that Rwanda was ready to receive the recently dismantled Qatar’s Stadium 974, the First Temporary World Cup Stadium which was among the venues that hosted the Qatar 2022 World Cup. However, Munyangaju dismissed the reports and clarified that Rwanda hadn’t held any talks with the government of Qatar over the possibility of handing over the facility to Rwanda. “It is not true. There is no plan to bring that facility to Rwanda,” she said. Among other projects announced by the Ministry of Sports are basketball courts that will be built in Remera at the former National Health Center (RBC). “The most important infrastructure project is the basketball courts that will be built here at the former RBC, which continues around the former tennis court. He is a private investor, Masai [Ujiri who runs the NBA's Toronto Raptors] will build stadiums for people to play sports,” said Niyonkuru.
