Clubs are gearing up for the return of football action after the local football governing body (Ferwafa) confirmed that the topflight league resumes this week, Times Sport has established. The league is set to resume after the Ministry of Sports, in its revised Covid-19 preventive guidelines issued on Saturday, January 8, gave a green light to sports federations – including Ferwafa – to resume competitions. The new guidelines come as a relief to clubs after some, last week, threatened to withdraw from the 2021/22 league season as they expressed their discontent on football governing body’s (Ferwafa) decision over issuing ‘costly and tough’ safety protocols to abide with for the league to resume. They were, for instance, requested to regroup in camps and stay there until the pandemic relaxes, a condition that prompted a number of clubs to announce they would quit the competition. Nine-time champions Rayon Sports were the first to release a statement on Wednesday, January 5, informing Ferwafa that they were withdrawing from the league if the decision to request teams to live in a ‘bubble environment’ during the course of the season was not rescinded. Gasogi United and SC Kiyovu then followed suit, citing similar financial challenges. However, under the revised guidelines, it is not mandatory for clubs to regroup in camps while they will only be requested to cover the costs of the Covid-19 test during training. The sports ministry will, in partnership with Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), cover the cost of testing for all clubs prior to every match day. Shortly after issuing fresh guidelines, Ferwafa informed clubs the league would resume in a week’s time, with further details expected to come out on Monday, January 10. “We are releasing a revised fixture calendar on Monday, and teams were informed to get ready for the return of the premier league this [coming] week,” Ferwafa’s stand-in Secretary General, David Iraguha told Times Sport in an interview on Sunday. Iraguha said that Ferwafa is going to revise its guidelines, which he admits clubs were uncomfortable with, and share them with the league members to ensure they comply with them when the league returns. “The clubs’ biggest challenge was to play the league while staying in residential camps but, with the condition now revoked under fresh guidelines, we hope to see them back in action when the league resumes,” he added.
