Kanyankore appointed interim Amavubi coach

APR FC head coach Gilbert ‘Yaoundé’ Kanyankore has been appointed the interim head coach of the national football team, Amavubi, following the sacking of Johnny McKinstry on Thursday. The development comes after earlier reports had indicated that former Rwanda international Jimmy Mulisa, who was McKinstry’s assistant, will take charge of the team for the upcoming 2017 AfCON qualifier against Ghana on September 3 in Accra. Speaking to Times Sport this morning, Kanyankore, a former Rayon Sports and SC Kiyovu tactician, confirmed he had been contacted over the interim role, adding he was scheduled to meet with officials from the Ministry of Sports and Culture to discuss the details of the contract. “Yes, it is true I was contacted by the officials from MINISPOC and we are meeting this afternoon to finalise the terms,” said the 62-year old. It also emerged that Kanyankore, who joined champions APR last month from Burundi’s VitalO FC, will be assisted by AS Kigali head coach Eric Nshimiyimana and Jimmy Mulisa, while Ibrahim Mugisha will retain the position of goalkeeping coach. It remains unclear how long will Kanyankore be in a role that’s traditionally been a preserve for foreign coaches, and whether he will resign from his APR job. McKinstry was sacked on Thursday after a dismal run of games that has seen the country fail to qualify for the 2017 African Cup of Nations. The poor performances also led to a sharp drop in the monthly Fifa/Coca-Cola rankings, from 68th around the time McKinstry took charge early last year to a lowly 121st in the latest ranking released earlier this month. Of Amavubi’s 25 games under McKinstry, the Amavubi won 11, drew two and lost a dozen games. editorial@newtimes.co.rw