RWANDA jumped 15 places in the latest Fifa rankings from 131st to 116th position globally. This is proof that the national team has the potential to move to greater heights. In the past, Rwandan football has struggled to make significant strides because of poor administration yet the country boasts of untapped football talent. Poor management has for years hampered football development at both club and international level. This has consequently dented the country’s status in world football- measured by the monthly Fifa rankings. We don’t need to perform miracles or use any magic in order to move our football to where we all want to see it. But to achieve this, we need efficient managers and good planning. Good planning doesn’t mean hiring the most expensive coaches for our teams but rather getting the basic things right—for instance building the basic infrastructure like more playing fields as well as empowering the inter-schools competitions. The Rwanda Football Federation and its partners including the Ministry of Sports should also realise that the more competitive matches the national team plays, the higher the chances of improving performance levels. When the players’ performance improves, the chances of winning matches are higher and the more the team wins, the better our position in world and continental rankings gets. In the past, Amavubi never used to play friendly matches before World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. These international matches play a big part in accumulating points, but only if the team is winning. So to build on the latest achievement let’s get the basics right to transform football in the country. But to achieve this will take the effort of every Rwandan.
