The way Football governing body (Ferwafa) has been rescheduling the Peace Cup round of 16 second leg clash between Rayon Sports and second-tier club Intare FC has sparked controversy recently. The two clubs have on various occasions been locked in a row with Ferwafa, challenging the federation’s controversial decisions that prompted it to reschedule the match three times. Till now, it remains unclear when exactly the match will finally be played. The quarter final second leg match between the two teams was initially supposed to take place on March 8, at Bugesera stadium but the FA rescheduled it to March 10 just hours before the match kick-off. The Blues were at the time on their way to the stadium in Nyamata when Ferwafa informed the club management that their match was rescheduled in a late communication that club president Jean Fidèle Uwayezu described as ‘beyond imagination’ before he eventually announced that club was pulling out of the tournament citing poor coordination of the tournament by the organisers. ALSO READ: Rayon Sports withdraw from 2023 Peace Cup Uwayezu claimed that his team, which was due to AS Kigali on March 12 in the league, wasn’t ready to play two matches within 48 hours prompting the committee to pull the club out of the Peace Cup. The club, however, made a U-turn on their tournament withdrawal and decided to return after the federation agreed to push the match to a later date. ALSO READ: Rayon Sports make u-turn on 2023 Peace Cup withdrawal Intare FC were, however, shocked to learn that Rayon accepted to carry on playing the Peace Cup. The APR's academy team wrote to Ferwafa demanding for a forfeit against the Blues but the federation rejected their request and instead rescheduled the match to March 27 at Bugesera Stadium. Since then, Intare have on numerous occasions been embroiled in a row with Ferwafa accusing them of not sticking to rules and regulations governing the tournament while making decisions. The club also accused the federation of taking one side while making decisions since the case came about to the point that club President Gatibito Byabuze claimed that the federation should not have let Rayon return to the competition. ALSO READ: Why are teams dodging Peace Cup 2023? Gatibito said he only knows that Intare qualified to the Peace Cup quarter finals the day Rayon failed to show up on the pitch on March 10. The club protested against playing the return leg on March 27, prompting Ferwafa to reschedule it to a later date as the federation looks for ways to solve the case. Times Sport understands that Ferwafa summoned both clubs to hold talks and decide the date on which the match would be rescheduled. Rayon President Uwayezu was in attendance but no Intare FC representative showed up. “The only thing we can do is to play in quarter-finals, we can’t play with a team that withdrew themselves from the competition,” Gatibito told Times Sport on Monday.
