JEAN Baptiste Mugiraneza has been offered a new one-year deal at the Tanzania Premier League side KMC, which ties him to the club until the end of the 2020/21 season. Mugiraneza, 36, was one of the standout performers for KMC last season despite the club finishing in 13th place, with 46 points, on the 20-team table. The veteran holding midfielder’s new deal puts end to reports that he was close to joining Namungo – another Tanzanian outfit – who are coached by Rwandan tactician Thierry Hitimana. “A number of teams wanted to sign me, but I have decided to stay with KMC,” he told Times Sport in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “I enjoyed my first season here, what other teams were offering did not give me reason enough to leave.” Mugiraneza is tight-lipped about the details of his new deal, but this publication understands that he was given USD 10,000 (Rwf9.6 million) a sign-on fee and he will be earning USD 2,000 as his monthly salary on top of match bonuses. He previously played for La Jeunesse and SC Kiyovu in the Rwanda Premier League, Azam FC in Tanzanian top tier as well as Kenyan powerhouse Gor Mahia. The former APR skipper retired from international football this month.
