Sports Minister Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju has announced that football fans will be allowed back into stadiums starting with the 2021/22 season. The move marks the end of the ban of football fans into stadiums since the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Rwanda in March last year. The local football governing body (Ferwafa) becomes the third federation to receive a green light to welcome spectators back after both basketball and volleyball federations were also given permission to let fans in the Kigali Arena ahead of the much-anticipated 2021 FIBA Afrobasket and CAVB 2021 African Nations Championships, respectively. Only the topflight league and international matches were given an all-clear to have the presence of fans, but under strict compliance to Covid-19 guidelines. Ferwafa wrote to the Ministry of Sports (Minisports) earlier this week requesting for the return of football fans to stadiums before the ministry announced it had granted the request on Friday, August 20. In an interview with the national broadcaster, Munyangaju confirmed: “The fans will be allowed in stadiums and preventive guidelines aimed at protecting their health safety will be put in place.” “We are now going to agree on the number of fans who will be allowed into the stadiums, preventive protocols and safe ticketing system [preferably online ticketing] to ensure that nobody gets infected or spreads the virus from the stadium,” she added. Munyangaju stressed that all possible preventive strategies will be discussed and established to ensure the safety of football spectators from venues because “being vaccinated does not mean that you cannot spread the virus.” Some clubs have struggled to cope with their financials while playing behind closed doors, and the return of football fans into stadiums could offer some relief when they start collecting gate revenues.
