Serge Kabanda (right) celebrates his first brace in the RPL 2023/2024.
Serge Kabanda nets twice to propel Gasogi United to a 2-1 win over Rayon Sports in Rwanda Premier League match played at Kigali Pelé Stadium
KIGALI, January 12, Rayon Sports lose to Gasogi United in the opening match of Rwanda Premier League Day 16 and squander an opportunity to cut the gap on the league leaders.
Rayon Sports were missing some key players, notably Burundians and Ugandans, and kicked off the game with many changes in the starting 11, resulting in a goal conceded in the first 30 minutes due to a lack of synergy. Serge Kabanda’s goal was enough to keep the opponents at bay at the break.
Rayon Sports introduced Luvumbu as one of three halftime substitutes to try to get the ball moving, however Serge Kabanda had not said his final word as He doubled the lead in the 58th minute before being taken off.
Mohamed Wade’s Rayon Sports kept pushing until Hertier Nzinga Luvumbu found the back of the nets with a well-taken freekick in the dying minutes of the match.
The Congolese international scored his seventh goal of the season, and he is currently Rayon Sports’ leading scorer.
Serge Kabanda’s goals today were his second and third in the 2023/2024 Rwanda Premier League.
The Blues remain in fourth place with 27 points after 16 games, while Gasogi climbs up to seventh with 21 points.
Both teams will return to the field in Round 16 of the Peace Cup on Wednesday. Rayon Sports will take on Interforce, while Gasogi will face Muhazi United.
This is how Mohamed Wade and Alain Kirasa set up their squads today.
Rayon Sports XI: Bonheur Hategekimana, Ali Omar Serumogo, Aimable Nsabimana, Abdul Rwatubyaye, Elie Ganijuru, Rachid Kalisa, Eric Ngendahimana, Hadji Iraguha, Kevin Muhire, Alon Gomis, and Arsene Tuyisenge.
Gasogi United: Dauda Ibrahim, Marc Govin Nshimiyimana, Jean de Dieu Udahemuka, Idrissa Niyitegeka, Akbar Muderi, Lisere Cedric Lisombo, Adolphe Hakizimana, Christian Theodor Malipangou, Serge Kabanda, Yao Henock, and Joseph Rama.
Standard de Liege players celebrate an equalizer in the 36th minute. ( Hakim Sahabo on the far right)
Standard de Liege’s recently appointed head coach, Ivan Leko, gave Rwanda international midfielder Hakim Sahabo a full debut in a 3-3 friendly match against Borussia Dortmund played at Marbella Football Center in Spain.
On Tuesday, January 9, Standard Liège and Borussia Dortmund shared a six-goal draw in Marbella, as Ivan Leko coached side contested in their first friendly match of the mid-season training camp held in southern Spain.
Upon joining the club five days ago, the former Croatian international opted to bring in six players, including Sahabo from team B, to join the main team in Marbella to showcase their potential and start battling for a squad spot for the team that finished ninth in the first leg of the Belgian Jupiller league.
Only Hakim Sahabo was chosen in the first 11 to face Edin Terzic’s Borussia Dortmund out of six players who were due to travel with the youth squad to Morocco. And Rwandan International, who has been playing for Standard de liege U-23 since joining the club in the summer of 2023, made his long-awaited full debut against Dortmund.
Sahabo played 60 minutes with Isaac Price in a holding midfield role before being replaced by Noah Mawete Kinsiona. A minute after Wilfried Kanga helped Standard in to take a 2-1 lead.
On the field, former Standard de Liege and now Dortmund defender Thomas Meunier converted Donyell Malen’s cross in the 15th minute to give the yellow and black the lead. Wilfried Kanga equalized 20 minutes later, thanks to a superb assist from Moussa Djenepo, and the teams went into the interval tied at 1-1.
Kanga inspired Standard de Liege to take the lead in the 59th minute, before Papadopoulos equalized for Dortmund in the 70th minute. In the 76th minute, Stipe Perica put the Belgians up for the second time, but Samuel Bamba came off the bench to deny Ivan Leko his first win. Bamba equalized in the 88th minute to make it 3-3.
It was a solid game and debut for the 18-year-old Rwandan midfielder, who has yet to make his Jupiller league debut despite winning 5 caps for Rwanda.
Hakim Sahabo was part of the team that stunned South Africa 2-0 in their second encounter of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifications to take the commanding lead of African World Cup Qualification Group C.
Borussia Dortmund XI: Gregor Kobel, Thomas Meunier, Mats Hummels, Niklas Süle, Nico Schlotterbeck, Salih Özcan, Marcel Sabitzer, Donyell Malen, Julian Brandt, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, and Youssoufa Moukoko
Standard de Liege XI: Arnaud Bodart, Zinho Vanheusden, Noubi Ngnokam, Kostas Laifis, Marlon Fossey, Hakim Sahabo, Issac Price, Moussa Djenepo, Hayao Kawabe, Kamai Sowah, and Wilfried Kanga
Rwanda’s men’s national team, Amavubi, has retained its 133rd position in the latest FIFA world rankings released on Thursday, December 21st in Zürich.
The Amavubi finished the year ranked 40th in Africa and 133rd worldwide, according to FIFA world rankings revealed on Thursday afternoon.
Rwanda, with 1107.04 points, has made no progress in both points and rankings as they had no international involvement last month.
Rwanda is topping Group C in the African World Cup qualifications under coach Torsten Frank Spittler, and as a result, they have their best ranking since April 2021.
According to the most recent FIFA rankings, Uganda has retained its top place in the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) Zone.
Uganda is placed 92nd in the entire world, whereas Kenya is ranked second in the zone and 110th overall. Eritrea, another CECAFA member, is unranked since they have not competed in FIFA-recognized competitions for a long time.
Argentina is ranked first in the world, followed by France and England.
FIFA World Ranking is still an essential component of international football, with the world governing body applying it to set seeding order for tournament and qualifying draws.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be issued on February 15, 2024.
Victoria Reynolds defends Philoxy in the first quarter of the AWBL semifinal match between REG and KPA.
Kenya Ports Authority Basketball team defeated Rwanda’s representative in the FIBA Africa Women Basketball League, REG WBBC, 101-97 in the semifinals to proceed to the championship game.
Alexandria, December 18, the highly anticipated Africa Women Basketball League semifinal clash between zone 5 representatives took place, and KPA prevailed once more, just as they did two months ago in Kigali.
REG, with undoubtedly the best backcourt and a 5-0 record in the competition, battled the zone 5 winners, KPA, in a semifinal matchup that was an opportunity for REG to exact revenge on the Kenyan powerhouse. However, the Kenyan champions proved their superiority by defeating the Rwandans in an offensive game of the tournament.
The Kenyans won three quarters of the game owing to long-range shooting from Natalie Mwangale and Victoria Reynolds (29-24, 25-23, 29-27), and Esperance Mukaneza seemed to have no solution to stop them.
In last quarter, The Rwandan electricians tried to fight back in the game, but their efforts fell short, as they scored 23 points while allowing 18 points, resulting in a 101-97 loss.
Philoxy Destiney Promise, Tiffany Mitchell, and Nia Clouden combined for 84 points to prove REG’s unbalanced roster.
Philoxy scored a game-high 41 points and dished out 7 assists. Mitchell and Clouden contributed 26 and 17 points respectively.
KPA’s Victoria Reynolds and Nathalie Mwangale each scored 26 points, and Rita Aluoch Onyango grabbed 13 rebounds. Mwangale was instrumental, dishing up 13 assists and shooting 9-18 from the field, including 8-15 from beyond the arc.
REG struggled to defend the three-point line, as their opponent made 15 of 32 shots. While Esperance Mukaneza’s team only made 8 three-pointers out of 23 attempts.
The KPA made it to the AWBL finals, becoming the first Kenyan team to do so in a FIBA Africa clubs championship. They will take on the defending champions, Alexandria Sporting Club, who defeated them in the group stage.
REG will compete for a bronze medal against Angola’s Inter Clube. Should they claim the medal, they will be the first Rwandan women’s team to win a medal in the Africa Club championship, and the second overall, as the APR men’s team took bronze in the 2009
The FERWABA Annual General Assembly has approved a significant expansion in its foreigner quota, allowing foreign players who have been playing in Rwanda for three years to compete in local competitions as a national.
On Saturday, December 16, the 2023 FERWABA general assembly was held in the conference room of the ONOMO Hotel in Kigali, confirming the start date of the 2024 season, new competitions, upgrade in foreigner quota, and welcoming new members.
Foreigner quota was highlighted in the resolutions presented by the Federation’s president, Mr. Desire Mugwiza, during the assembly attended by all club representatives.
The assembly passed a number of resolutions concerning player eligibility and the registration period.
Players’ registration used to start with the league’s first leg of the regular season and end before the second leg began. Teams can now register players for the entire length of the regular season.
This means that all players registration would be completed prior to the playoffs and each club is allowed one naturalized national player in addition to the customary two foreigners.
As a reminder, each side in the league has a maximum of 20 players, including 5 foreigners. However, a team may replace a player at any time as long as they do not exceed the number specified by the rules.
The FERWABA members approved two new local competitions. Rwanda Cup, a new basketball competition open to all D1, D2 clubs and non-league teams, and a Super Cup to kick off the basketball season, which will be played by the league champion and the Cup winner.
Normally, in the Rwanda Basketball League, if a game ends in a tie for the first leg, the second leg game is used as a tie breaker, with the winner receiving four points from two games and the loser getting two points.
The general assembly, GA decided that starting with the next season, overtime shall be applied to determine the game’s winner.
For the first time, the players were represented in the general assembly. Desire Mugwiza, the head of the local governing body for basketball, believes that players should have a say in the decisions made in regards to the direction of this game.
Mr. Desire Mugwiza, FERWABA President
He said: “This game is built on the players; the club would not exist without the players, and the federation would not exist without the players; we always meet with club presidents and forget that the players are the main actors in the game.”
“We resolved at the last general assembly to set up a body representing the players, which will attend the GA, give the players’ viewpoints to the assembly, and be notified of the resolutions; so that there is an organ that speaks for them.” The Federation’s head stated
Mr. Desire Mugwiza urged members to honor the athlete’s contract in order to go to the professional league. He also asked the players to respect the clubs, and insists that the rules and punishments have been established for either party who violates the contract.
The President of the Federation also informed the media that a U-18 league will be launched to help kids from the Jr. NBA League in their development. It will be played with teams that have junior teams in their initial season, and he emphasized that it will be totally effective in the next two seasons.
Members of the Federation gathered at the ONOMO Hotel to plan for the 2024 Basketball season.
EAUR and Kepler, both in the women’s category, were welcomed as new members during the Assembly.
The members also confirmed that, beginning with the 2025 season, the Rwanda Basketball League will be professional and comply with the rules. Hence, it will be the first professional local league in existence.
The 2024 Rwanda Basketball League will tentatively tipoff on 9th February featuring 10 men’s teams and a record 10 women’s teams. For the first time in a long time, the men’s competition will feature all ten competing teams from the capital city, Kigali.
Tiffany Mitchell scored a game-high 23 points to help REG WBBC get off to a good start in the AWBL.
Rwanda’s REG WBBC overwhelmed Cameroon’s Overdose Up Station 86-45 in their opening game of the Africa Women’s Basketball League on Wednesday, December 11, in Alexandria, Egypt.
Tiffany Mitchell scored 23 points for REG Women BBC as the Rwanda and Zone V flag bearers began their Africa Women’s Basketball League campaign with an 86-45 victory over Cameroon’s Overdose Up Station.
The Electricians got out to a fast start, jumping out to a double-digit lead in the opening quarter (24-11). And the Esperance Mukaneza coached-team maintained momentum, thrashing the Cameroonians in the second quarter to score 32 points while allowing only 10 points.
REG’s opponent struggled in the third quarter as well, as the 2023 Rwanda Basketball League runners-up continued to wreak havoc on Cameroonians, leading by as many as 42 points before the final period.
Mukaneza shuffled his lineup in the fourth quarter and scored only nine points, after having created a large lead in the three quarters. Thus, an AWBL journey, previous FIBA Africa Champions Cup Women, debuted on a high note, defeating Overdose Up Station 86-45.
In in addition to Tiffany Mitchell’s 23 points, 5 assists, and 8 rebounds, Feza Ebengo provided 16 points and 7 rebounds in the win. Betty Kalanga had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Destiney Philoxy Promise added 13 points and seven rebounds.
On Tuesday, December 12, 2023, REG WBBC will face Inter Clube in the second game.
Rayon Sports picked up a crucial three points against tenacious opponents Muhazi United, closing the gap on leaders APR FC to just two points.
Rayon Sports defeated Muhazi United 2-0 at Kigali Pelé Stadium on Wednesday night to extend their incredible home winning streak to five games. And the victory brings the Blues to within two points of the league lead.
Kevin Muhire scored a free kick in the 33rd minute to give Mouhamed Wade’s team a half-time advantage. In the second quarter, Ugandan forward Musa Esenu scored a beautiful header off a cross from Arsene Tuyisenge to secure the three points of Rwanda Premier League Matchday 13.
Elsewhere, Muvandimwe, Elie Tatou, Sylla, and Pimpong scored as Mukura VS defeated SC Kiyovu 4-1 at Huye International Stadium on a hectic day in the Rwanda Premier League mid-table. Kiyovu had a goal from Richard Kilongozi.
At Umuganda, Etincelles hammered AS Kigali 4-2, heaping the pressure on interim manager, Shaban Mbarushimana.
The Citizens have only won one of their previous ten games, placing them 15th on the table. They have now gone 7 games without a win.
Muhazi and Etincelles are 11th and 12th with 14 points, respectively. Mukura has moved up to fifth place with 20 points.
Matchday 14 is set for this weekend, starting on Friday.
8-Dec, 3 p.m, Sunrise vs Amagaju at Nyagatare Stadium
8-Dec, 3 p.m, Etoile de l’Est vs Police FC at Ngoma Stadium
8-Dec, 6 p.m, Gorilla FC vs APR FC at Kigali Pelé Stadium
9-Dec, 1.30 p.m, SC Kiyovu vs Etincelles at Kigali Pelé Stadium
9-Dec, 3 p.m, SC Gasogi United vs Mukura VS at Kigali Pelé Stadium
9-Dec, 3 p.m, Musanze FC vs Marines at Ubworoherane Stadium
9-Dec, 3 p.m, Muhazi United vs Bugesera FC at Ngoma Stadium
9-Dec, 6 p.m, AS Kigali vs Rayon Sports at Kigali Pelé Stadium
Rayon Sports defeated Bugesera 1-0 at Kigali Pele Stadium on December 1st to win a second consecutive league match for the first time this season. Hakim Bugingo scored the lone goal
Hakim Bugingo opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a close-range thunderbolt strike from the left side, giving the blues an edge to coast through the first half.
Bugesera had a chance to tie the game in the final minute of the first half, but Elijah’s effort on the spot-kick felt short. Simon Tamale maintained his composure and moved in the right direction to save the penalty.
Musa Esenu, Joackiam Ojera, Rachid Kalisa, and Arsene Tuyisenge continued to squander chances that would have killed the game in the second half, however, the opponent was unable to challenge, thus it ended 1-0.
For the first time, Rayon Sports have won a second consecutive game in the 2023 Rwanda Premier League Season. The win has moved them into the second position with 23 points, and 2 points behind APR the leaders.
Should Musanze and Police win their respective matches tomorrow, Rayon Sports will be in the fourth spot before hosting Muhazi on December 6 at Kigali Pele Stadium in matchday 13.
Bugesera is still struggling in the relegation zone, and the team’s next match is against Police FC.
This is how Mohamed Wade and Francis Haringingo opted to put up their lineups
Rayon Sports XI: Simon Tamale, Ali Omar Serumogo, Isaac Mitima, Eric Ngendahimana, Hakim Bugingo, Emmanuel Mvuyekure, Rachid Kalisa, Kevin Muhire (C), Joackiam Ojera, and Musa Esenu
Bugesera XI: Patience Niyongira, Christian Mukengere (c), David Byiringiro, Augustin Kaneza, Abdul Singirankabo, Pacifique Dukundane, Gilbert Tuyihimbaze, Ani Elijah, Leonard Gakwaya, Vincent Adams, and Olivier Dushimimana
Mengo City FC resumed their losing record against Nansana ASKA FC in the BetPawa Futsal Super League yesterday.
The newly sponsored BetPawa Futsal Super League continues to amaze, with teams doing all possible to earn the per-match locker room prizes designed to inspire players and improve competitiveness.
Nansana ASKA FC did not receive bonuses in the previous matchday, but they made no mistake in defeating Mengo City FC yesterday. The latter enjoyed the most of the ball but failed to convert passes into goals.
ASKA’s Ali Miti Kayongo opened the score charts with the only goal in the 1st half against Mengo City FC.
Mengo City’s Emmanuel Mawa was a formidable opponent, scoring twice for ASKA to make the score 3-0 following the break. With two goals apiece, William Sseguya and Male Antony appeared to give the trailing team hope.
Mengo City FC’s problems, however, were far from done as Hussein Dahir increased ASKA’s advantage and Ali Miti Kayongo scored his second goal of the game to seal a 5–2 victory.
REG Volleyball Club, undoubtedly needed to bolster their roster following their dismal showing at the just-completed Zone 5 Club Championships held at Kigali Arena.
The announcement follows REG VC’s elimination from the Zone 5 Club Championships by the recently created club Kepler VC, which barred REG VC from advancing to the semifinals.
Noteworthy is the fact that the departing coach, Pierre Kwizera, did not appear on the bench in any of the Zone 5 games and despite the club’s lack of communication, it appears that they have parted ways. The team was under the responsibility of assistant coach, Jean Luc Mbonyuwontuma.
Even yet, REG is firm as a league title contender after making two audacious acquisitions of Thon Magembo and Angiro Gideon, two of the top players in the Uganda National Volleyball League.
The two new signings now combine forces with Ronald Muvara, Samuel Niyogisubuzo, Sylvestre Ndayisaba, who joined from Gisagara, and Fabrice Iradukunda, who came from Kirehe.
Both Thon and Gideon agreed to a two-year contract with REG VC, Rwanda’s elite volleyball team.
Notably, Thon a receiver attacker and Gideon an outside hitter both competed for Sport-S, Uganda’s finest volleyball team, and both of them showed incredible sport in the Zone 5 club championship. Sport-S finished in second place winning bronze behind champions Police VC.
Because of this competition, the formidable Rwandan REG VC saw the two prospects and made the decision to follow them, leading to the recent additions.
Thon was a vital member of Sport-S, the reigning NVL champions when they faced UCU, which is currently Gideon’s previous team. Previously rivals, currently allies.
