On Sunday, June 27, the football governing body (Ferwafa) will get a new president in either former referee Louis Rurangirwa or businessman and Mukura VS President Olivier Nizeyimana, the two candidates vying for the top job. As elections get closer, both candidates have revealed their manifestos and Times Sport looks at key points in the manifestos of both gentlemen starting with Olivier Nizeyimana. Turning Rwandan football into a commercial brand As the CEO of transport agency Volcano Express and country representative of South Korean carmaker Hyundai, Nizeyimana is a successful businessman. The Mukura VS president admits Rwandan football has gaps in marketing the game and the majority of local clubs have for years been struggling for funds to sustain themselves as a result. On this issue, Nizeyimana said the game is struggling for sponsorship because its level of performance is still below par but vowed to put more effort in improving the level of Rwandan football and turn it into a product that can attract the private sector to invest in. “If we are able to improve the level of our tournaments, I believe we will have a good product to present to potential investors and get them involved,” he said. Building the football from grassroots Rwandan football has been struggling for success because its development policy has on many occasions failed to prove fruitful. But Nizeyimana insists, if given a chance, his blueprint lies in working with schools and improving the capacity of football academies as a platform through which young players showcase their talent at a very young age. He said his office would ensure plenty and regular competitions for junior teams from different age groups are organized so that children get used to competitions and grow with a more competitive mentality. “Football development is a long process but we can do it if we get all stakeholders involved,” he said. Working closely with football legends A big number of football legends, especially those who helped Rwanda qualify to the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunis, Tunisia, have on many occasions shown their disappointment about the value they are given despite contributing to the national team’s ‘greatest success’ so far. However, Nizeyimana said he recognizes their importance and vowed to start things afresh toward building a good relationship with them as he targets to involve them in different managerial and scouting departments during his tenure. “We can’t lose them because they are a treasure to the nations and they still have a lot to contribute to our football. Some can help us in technical aspects while others, especially those living outside the country can help us in scouting Rwandan talents performing well abroad because we have realized that there are a lot of amazing football talents doing great outside the country,” he said. Taking the national team to AFCON The first and last time Rwanda qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations was in 2004 but, despite increasing the number of participants to the tournament from 16 to 24, the national team has failed to repeat the feat. This is a dream that Nizeymana is looking forward to making a reality while in office. “For the next four years in office, our biggest wish is to at least once take Rwanda to the Africa Cup of Nations and that would sum up all we are trying to do for this game if we are given a chance to apply what we have on table,” he said. But he is looking to build a long-term project, during which the federation intends to improve the capacity of coaches who can train and educate young footballers the philosophy of what playing for the national team means besides technical skills so they can grow with that mentality. He also aims to build a strong scouting system to monitor every Rwandan playing outside the country and bring them to play for their nation. Reviving women’s football The shortage of football competitions in the women ‘s category continues to persist and is going from bad to worse and there hasn’t been a football competition for women since 2019. Yet, while the national men’s football league comes to a close this Friday, June 25, women’s football clubs know little about the fate of the women’s top flight league. “As a long-term solution to lack of competitions, we want to give a special attention to women’s football development by taking tournaments to the grassroots level as we look to unearth so many female football talents from whom we can produce players whose careers can inspire future generations,” he said. Nizeyimana pledged to make women’s football a professional career that can be a source of living for a woman, just like it is for a man. He added that, under his tenure, his office will work on increasing the number of female coaches and referees as well as improve skills capacity for existing women coaches and referees.
