The U20 national team has started the preparations ahead of the forthcoming Francophone Games, scheduled for September 6–15 in Nice, France.The U20 team is composed of players from Isonga, APR, AS Kigali and others, who will be selected from other local clubs and outside the country.The junior team started training on Monday at Ferwafa artificial turf under the tutelage of French coach Richard Tardy, but minus several key players from APR and Rayon Sports, who are taking part in the ongoing Cecafa Kagame Cup in Darfur, Sudan.The plan is to use the competition to prepare a solid team for the 2016 Olympic Games and CHAN finals which will be staged in Rwanda.Rwanda, who will be making her debut in the football competition, is in Group D along with the hosts France, Congo Brazzaville and Canada.Group A is made up of Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger, Group B has Gabon, Senegal, Haiti, and Lebanon; while Cameroon, Morocco, Burkina Faso and Chad will battle in Group C.The Nice games will bring together more than 3,000 participants from five continents competing in sporting and cultural events.Rwanda will also field competitors in other sports disciplines – such as athletics, swimming and boxing – and cultural events.In 2009, Dieudonne Disi was named best athlete and was awarded the Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie medal by Lebanese First Lady Wafaa Sleiman after he won the 10,000 metres in 29 minutes and 38.68 seconds.Francophone Games, held every four years, were started in 1989 and are mostly dominated by French speaking nations.
