Tracing Mulisa's rise to an iconic footballer

As the old adage goes, You can’t serve two masters at a go. And indeed this was a case with former Amavubi star Jimmy Mulisa as he had to choose between chasing his football dream and academics. But he managed to balance the two-and excelled in both sports and academics. Raised in Uganda, the former Amavubi Star player fell in love with football at a tender age, but his mother never blessed the idea of taking up playing football instead of concentrating on his studies. “My Dad never had issues with me playing football but our mother was against the idea because by then footballers were considered academic failures, so she never wanted me take that route.” In his primary school days, Mulisa captained his former school, Mwiri primary in the inter-schools competitions. After completing O’level in 1996, Uganda-based Nagarama secondary school wanted to recruit him and sponsor his education but his family declined it as they were heading back to Rwanda. On return to Rwanda, Mulisa enrolled at Kigali International Academy (now Kagarama SS) where he was spotted during the inter-schools competitions and later recruited to join the APR Junior team in 1998. “But after just a few days, I quit the academy to focus on my studies because it was the priority,” revealed the former Rwanda international. Playing career Mulisa says his inspiration to play football came during his second year at the University in India. A coach he recalls by the name, RaJi, spotted him during an inter-university game and later signed him on a one-year deal in the first division team India Telcom Industry (I.T.I) FC. “He is the one who inspired me to play professional football because in my contract I was given an apartment, a motorcycle and 100 dollars per month which motivated me to take up the game seriously,” he explains. When Mulisa returned to Rwanda in 2002, he was immediately recruited by APR where he played for three seasons, making 41 appearances and scoring 16 goals. In 2005, his dream came true when he joined Belgian side R.A.E.C. Mons where he scored 10 goals after making 28 appearances. In 2006, he joined K.R.C. Mechelen also in Belgium and during his stay he scored 13 goals in 30 games. In 2007, the then Amavubi Stars forward, signed for R.F.C. Tournai, playing 25 games and scoring 12 goals. Between 2008 and 2009, he had a successful stint at K.F.C. V.W. Hamme where he netted 10 goals in 29 appearances. Later he joined K.S.V. Roeselare and made 30 appearances with a score tally of 10 goals. In 2010-11, he joined Fotbal Club Ceahl’ul Piatra Neam’ of Romania and left after scoring 11 goals in 27 appearances. He moved to Russian side Football Club Shakhter Karagandy for the 2011/12 season scoring 10 goals in 31 games and in 2012-13, he moved to FC Vostok of Kazakhstan where he scored 11 goals in 29 games. The former APR star returned to Belgium with A.F.C. Tubize for the 2013-2014 campaign where he played 22 games and scored 8 goals and he ended his playing career in 2014 at T-Team FC of Malaysia where he played 15 times and scored 8 goals. National duty Mulisa received his first international cap in 2002 under coach Ratomir Dujkovic against Namibia in Windhoek during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. He went on to make a total of 37 caps. He says that, “It was an honour to represent my country. The talent we had that time was exceptional and it was not easy to get into the first team.” “And to be part of the first team that qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time is something I will always treasure,” he states. He adds, “Playing at CAN transformed me into a complete player because the competition for first team spot was stiff. We had excellent players and you had to work so hard to get into the team.” Best and worst moment “The best moment of my career was playing in UEFA Cup qualifiers with Shakhter Karagandy FC of Russia in 2011, while the worst moment was when I missed the opportunity to sign for English side Watford in 2008 when I was at K.F.C. V.W. Hamme. “I had offers from them (Watford) and I was set to join them in January, the following year but in November, I got injured. I was operated on and my move could not go on. Todate, I still regret that injury,” he recalls with a sad face. Mulisa talks to Amavubi Stars head coach McKinstry during a training session at Amahoro stadium. (S. Ngendahimana) Retirement Mulisa has since retired from playing football, and is now into coaching. “In football, time comes and you fail even to do exercises that you used to do, that discouraged me and I decided to retire and get into coaching.” Future plans “Currently, he is the head coach of Sunrise FC. “It’s what I need as I grow into this (coaching) business. I have attained my CAF B coaching license and I am also a FIFA-licensed agent.” Appreciation “My sincere appreciation goes to Bosco Murego, a former coach and secretary general of Rayon Sports, who helped to process everything for me to go to Belgium. Also my mother and everyone else who I met in my career and learnt a thing or two from them.” How others describe him Alphonse Gatera, the current head coach national league side Espoir FC says, “I played with him in Vietnam for a short time but he was one of the best players I have ever played with. He was very humble; every player respected him because he was really talented.” Meanwhile, APR FC’s assistant coach Didier Bizimana says of his former teammate, “We played together at APR before he left for Belgium, but he was that kind of player born to win and always with a clear vision of what he wants to achieve. Above all, he was respectful and talented.” Who is Mulisa? Born in Jinja, Uganda on April 24, 1984 to Abel Rutirabura (RIP) and Betty Rutirabura, Mulisa is the first born in a family of five—four boys and one girl. The 31-year-old is single but says, “I am ready to start a family now but I have not met the right person.” He attended Mwiri primary school and St. James secondary for O’level in Jinja, Uganda before his family, like most exiled Rwandan families, returned to Rwanda in 1996. He joined Kigali International Academy (now Kagarama SS) for A’level, pursuing Mathematics, Economics and Geography (MEG). Later, he enrolled at India’s Bangalore University where he pursued a bachelors degree in Business Management specialising in International Business. After completing the three-year course, he worked with the Ministry of Defence (MINADEF) in the department of Finance while playing for APR. Mulisa is a big fan of Spanish La Liga giants FC Barcelona and his playing career has been inspired by Nigeria’s legend Nwanko Kanu. “He inspired me so much because I played with many Nigerians who used to talk about him and when I watched his videos, I realised we have the same playing style.” In addition to his permanent job as head coach of national football league side, Sunrise FC, Mulisa is also currently part of the Amavubi Stars coaching staff, working under head coach Johnny McKinstry. editorial@newtimes.co.rw