The Rwanda men’s national football team, Amavubi, dropped to 140th in the latest FIFA rankings, published on October 26 by the world governing body for Football.
According to FIFA’s most recent rankings, which were revealed on Thursday, October 26, Rwanda is now ranked 140th, 40th in Africa, with a total of 1087.03 points, the same points held last month but with one place down from 139th to 140th globally.
Among other East African countries, the Amavubi are behind DRC (65th), Uganda (90th), Kenya (110th), and Tanzania (121st). Burundians are ranked 142nd, and South Sudan is ranked 167th.
On the continental scale, Morocco and Senegal remain top and second, respectively, with Tunisia third, Algeria fourth, and Egypt fifth.
Argentina continues to lead the world rankings, followed by France, Brazil, England, and Belgium.
Portugal climbed two spots to sixth position, followed by the Netherlands. Spain rose two places to No. 8, with Italy in ninth place and Croatia dropping four places to No. 10.
Rwanda’s best-ever ranking was 64th in the world in March 2015, while its lowest-ever position was 178 in 1999. They begin the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next month against the 125th-ranked Zimbabwe before facing the 64th-ranked South Africa. Both games will take place at Huye International Stadium.
Rwanda will be represented by APR and REG, the finalists in the 2023 RBL Playoffs.
Nine elite East African teams have confirmed their participation in the forthcoming FIBA Africa Women Basketball League 2023 Qualifiers Group D, slated for October 28 to November 4 in Kigali. The Lady Canons of UCU will not take part.
The Tournament, formerly known as the FIBA Africa Zone 5 Women’s Club Championship, had been originally slated to run from October 21 to October 28 before being moved by FIBA Africa to October 28 to November 4 in Kigali.
The Group D competition‘s hosts, APR Women BBC and Rwanda Energy Group (REG), were expected to be joined by other eight teams. However, The UCU Lady Canons, the 2022 Ugandan NBL Champions, withdrew from the competition for unspecified reasons.
Uganda was supposed to be represented by two teams, however, the JKL Lady Dolphins, the 2022 NBL Women’s runner-up and now 2023 Champions, will be the sole flag bearers of the Pearl of Africa.
Other teams confirmed include Tanzania’s Vijana Queens and JKT Stars, and South Sudan’s Nile Legends. Burundi’s Gladiators will compete as well, while Kenya will be represented by KPA and Equity Bank Hawks.
The preliminary rounds are set to take place at LDK Gymnasium, with the finals expected at Kigali’s BK Arena.
The competition serves as a qualification for the 2023 FIBA Africa Champions Cup for Women, which will be held in Egypt from December 8 to December 17.
The FIBA Africa Women Basketball League 2023 Qualifiers Finalists from Group D will advance to the continental showpiece.
The rivalry between APR WBBC and REG WBBC is expected to take center stage in regional competition.
The Africa Women Basketball League 2023 Qualifiers in Group D will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from October 28 to November 4, 2023. and The formerly Africa Zone 5 Women’s Club Championship will potentially gather ten clubs from six East African countries.
The competition sees a few alterations in player registration under the new branding and format, as teams are now limited to only two players from outside the continent, the same as BAL in the men’s category. Hence, two of the four eligible foreign players must be from another African country.
The rationale for rebranding is that the league has to be better associated with the Basketball African League (BAL). However this one has not garnered NBA support as it is still under FIBA’s complete oversight.
This week-long competition is hosted by the Rwanda Basketball Federation, and the 2023 RBL finalists APR BBC and REG BBC will be joined by South Sudanese Nile Legends and Burundian Gladiators.
The 2022 Uganda NBL Champions UCU Lady Canons are waiting for the JKL Lady Dolphins, who are one game away from clinching the 2023 league title, to hit the road and join KPA from Kenya, as well as Vijana Queens and JKT Stars from Tanzania, in Kigali.
After the withdrawal of Zetech University, Kenya’s Equity Bank Hawks will also be taking part.
The preliminary rounds are set to take place at LDK Gymnasium, with the finals expected at Kigali’s BK Arena.
Following a third-place finish in the previous edition, The APR women’s basketball team placed eighth among the ten clubs in the continental tournament. Egypt’s Sporting Alexandria won the title.
The tournament finalists will make it to the FIBA Africa Women Basketball League, which will be held in Cairo, Egypt, from December 8th to December 17th, 2023.
The Zimbabwe Warriors intend to host Nigeria in Rwanda for their first home 2026 World Cup qualifying match. Given that Zimbabwe currently lacks approved stadia, the Warriors plan to stay in Rwanda following their game against Amavubi to host the Super Eagles a week later.
The Warriors of Zimbabwe could play their first two games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Rwanda, as CAF has criticized all venues in the country that used to host international matches for failing to meet international standards.
Usually, international matches in Zimbabwe were held in The National Sports Stadium and Rufaro in Harare, as well as Babourfields in Bulawayo. However, since the country was suspended by FIFA, the stadiums in the country were no longer up to grade, and hence the continuing renovations on the venues have not been completed on time.
According to the local website Soccer24, talks have been ongoing between the Zimbabwe Football Association, ZIFA, and the Rwanda Football Association, FERWAFA, with the aim for Zimbabwe to host Nigeria in the land of a thousand hills.
The journey to the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, will begin on November 13, 2023. Zimbabwe will travel to Rwanda in Group C’s opening game, and the Warriors are keen to host Nigeria’s Super Eagles in Rwanda a week later.
The list of approved venues is only for matchdays 1 and 2, which means the Zimbabwe can host other matches in the campaign if Harare’s National Sports Stadium passes further CAF inspections.
Musa Esenu (20) scored twice to help Rayon Sports defeat Etoile de l'Est.
Ugandan striker, Musa Esenu hit an incredible brace to drive Rayon Sports to a 2-1 win over Etoile de l’Est in the Rwanda Premier League on Wednesday evening. The Blues were in Kigali Pele Stadium today to face a Ngoma-based club to round out a matchday 6 schedule.
Esenu put Rayons ahead after 30 minutes when he converted an excellent ball from Hadji Iraguha’s corner. He doubled the advantage with a left leg 10 minutes later, following a superb play from Joackiam Ojera.
Rayon Sports had to play the final 30 minutes with a man less after Burundian international Emmanuel Mvuyekure was sent off. However, Etoile de l’Est didn’t capitalize on their numerical advantage until the 90th minute, when Godspower Gabriel trimmed the deficit to 2-1.
A decent result for the Blues; Mauritanian Mohamed Wade took over as interim coach earlier this week as Yamen Zelfani left the club by mutual consent
The result means Rayon Sports moves into fourth place in the table, four points leaders Musanze FC, while Etoile de l’Est is just three points off the bottom.
What’s Next?
Rayon Sports are in Premier League action at Musanze on Sunday. On the other hand, Etoile de l’Est is set to take on Muhazi United in the Eastern provincial derby. The game will take place at Ngoma Stadium.
Mukura VS beat Sunrise 1-0, Gorilla and Gasogi shared the points in an exciting 4-goal draw, APR and Bugesera played a one-all draw, while Etincelles forfeited the Musanze encounter of Rwanda Premier League round 6 played this Tuesday.
At Huye International Stadium, midfielder Gerrard Ndayogeje scored a late goal to secure Mukura VS the three points over Hassan Muhire’s Sunrise. It was Mukura’s first victory since a 1-0 triumph over the Marines on August 26.
Simultaneously, Kigali Pele Stadium [KPS] was staging a brotherly clash between Gasogi United and Gorilla FC. The battle concluded in a 2-2 tie.
Darcy Irakoze and Yves Habimana scored for Gorilla, while Hamiss Hakim and Theodore Malipangou netted for Gasogi. The latter was registering his fourth goal of the season.
Following a 2-1 win over Musanze FC last week, under the floodlights of KPS, APR FC drew 1-1 with Bugesera FC. Victor Mbaoma struck once again before Gilbert Tuyihimbaze put the visitors level one minute before the end of regular time.
In the other matchday 6 encounter scheduled to take place at Umuganda Stadium, the hosts Etincelles and visitors Musanze FC walked from the tunnel ready to kick off the action, but the match commissioner urged the referees to slow down since there was no ambulance at the venue.
The officials waited 15 minutes; however, the ambulance was nowhere to be seen, resulting in a 3-0 forfeit for the home team, and Musanze headed back home with three points and three goals.
Musanze FC maintains his lead in the rankings with 13 points from the three points gained effortless, followed by APR with 11 points.
Tomorrow, Police FC will face Muhazi United, before Rayon Sports take on Etoile de l’Est at KPS, Kiyovu travels to Huye Stadium to face high-flying Amagaju, and Marines will lock horns against AS Kigali at Umuganda Stadium.
Jean Bosco Ruboneka celebrates his first goal of the season | Photo Credit: IGIHE
A week after being humiliated in the CAF Champions League, APR FC overcame Musanze FC 2-1 to get back on track and closer to the league leaders. Bosco Ruboneka and Victor Mbaoma scored for APR, while Pacifique Tuyisenge scored Musanze’s consolation.
KIGALI, October 6 – At Pele Stadium, APR handed Musanze FC the first loss of the season, boosting their morale to compete in local competition if they are to defend the league, they have won for the past four seasons.
Musanze district-sponsored club travelled from the northern province to keep their unbeaten streak and pole position in the Rwanda Premier League, in a rescheduled round 4 matchup against the defending champions
APR FC midfielder, Bosco Ruboneka gave the army side the lead after eight minutes, and Victor Mbaoma increased the lead in the 18th.
Pacifique Tuyisenge came off the bench to score a consolation goal for Sosthene Habimana’s Musanze in the 88th minute.
APR’s victory places them second on the table, behind today’s opponent Musanze. They both have 10 points, but Musanze has a better goal difference, even though APR still has a game in hand.
The Rwanda Premier League action continues tomorrow, with Marines hosting Rayon Sports in a rescheduled matchday 4 due to Rayon Sports’ international engagement
The defending champions APR WVC, and Police WVC, fought back and forth in an entertaining five-set contest that concluded with APR taking home the bragging rights of Rwanda Women National League’s newly established derby.
After placing second in the Kirehe Open last week, the Rwanda National Police Volleyball Team suffered a heartbreaking setback to rival APR Women Volleyball Club on Sunday afternoon, falling in five thrilling sets inside Notre Dame des Anges Gymnasium.
Set one stood close early on. However, with the score tied at ten, a kill and solo block from Bertile Mutoni, followed by another kill from Amito Shallon secured a three-point advantage for Police (13-10).
Police went on to 15 points while maintaining a three-point lead, forcing Florien Siborurema to take a timeout to adjust his tactics. It worked out, and APR cut the deficit to make it 15 apiece.
They pushed and seized the lead until Christian Hatumimana decided to request a timeout at 16-18. Following the short break, both teams continued to go back and forth up to 23-23, when Police scored two consecutive points to take the first set.
Set two saw the defensive battle between the two powerful hitting teams, with APR coming out on top 25-19. This set was unambiguously dominated by APR.
With no Catherine Ainambabazi, injured in the warm-up prior to the game, Police came out strong in the third set, taking the first five points in a row.
APR’s Siborurema sought to shake up the team, requesting time outs, but a succession of attack errors forced Siborurema to rest some key players like Benitha Mukandayisenga, Yvette Igihozo, and Valentine with the intent to come back stronger in the fourth set. It ended 25-12 in favor of Police
With the majority of rested players from the previous set, APR comes out fired up to win the 4th set and force a decider. They easily defeated Police 25-18 and then resumed where they left off in the deciding set.
They scored five consecutive points and changed the court sides with 8-2.
APR scored four straight points to make it 12-2, and there was plainly no room for the Police to come back. Hence, the set ended 15-6.
APR extends their winning streak, as they have yet to taste defeat in the 2023 National League. They improved their perfect record to 7-0 and are now in pole position.
APR Women Volleyball Club
In their next assignment, they will be up against IPRC Huye and Ruhango VC at the IPRC Huye outdoor courts.
Rwanda’s representatives in the 2023 CAF Champions, APR FC were ousted in the second preliminary round, and their long-held ambition to appear in any top-level Continental tournament group stage remains a nightmare.
Following a goalless draw in Kigali last week, APR FC’s 2023 journey to the CAF Champions League Group stage came to an end as they were thrashed 6-1 by Egypt’s Pyramids in the second leg match of the second round played at the 30 June Stadium.
Mostafa Fathi broke the deadlock 18 minutes after the kickoff, and Walid El-Kharti doubled the lead three minutes later to give the home team the comfort of a two-goal advantage.
In a similar way to the first half, APR conceded two goals in quick succession, with Mostafa Fathi scoring in the 56th and 61st minutes to complete his hat trick and the Pyramids’ fourth goal.
In the 68th minute, APR’s defender Salomon Banga Bindjeme escaped a red following a bad tackle in the box, although a penalty seemed obvious.
Ramadhan Sobhi missed the penalty attempt, and Mohamed Al-Shaibi rebounded it to make it 5. And things became much worse for Rwanda’s most decorated Club When Mostafa Fathi scored the sixth goal—his fourth goal in this Friday’s encounter.
APR’s Victor Mbaoma came off the bench and converted a penalty shot in the 86th minute after Gabr handled the ball in the box.
6-1 on aggregate meant not just elimination, but also humiliation for a team that had not used foreigners in over a decade and overhauled the policy this season in search of international glory.
The team’s focus must shift to local competitions, with APR FC aiming for a fifth league title in a row. They have scooped up every league trophy since 2019.
Following the closure of the boys’ FIBA Africa Youth Camp in Bamako on Friday, Kigalihosts an all-girls camp comprising 38 kids from 21 different countries in a three-day Basketball camp.
Kigali, September 26 – A three-day Africa showpiece for developmental and training purposes, organized by FIBA Africa in partnership with NBA, gets underway at BK Arena in the presence of Jean Michel Ramaroson, The President of FIBA Africa Development Council, Franck Traore, NBA Africa Head Basketball operations, and Pascale Mugwaneza, the vice president of FERWABA
Dr Check Sarr, Rwanda’s national team head coach, leads a team of instructors that includes NBA Africa Ambassador Christelle Ngarsanet, a former Ivorian national team player who was instrumental in the development of Rwanda national team players Hope Butera and Joyeuse Ineza Sifa.
In her remarks to welcome the campers in Rwanda, Pascale Mugwaneza, Vice President of Rwanda Basketball Federation, complimented the girls for making it to Kigali as proof of their best efforts. She later expressed the federation’s gratitude and appreciation to FIBA for all of the opportunities they continue to grant Rwanda in hosting various Basketball events.
Pascale Umugwaneza, The First Vice-President of the Rwanda Basketball Federation
She said; “We do not take for granted the opportunities that FIBA provides for our country to host several Basketball events, and we appreciate them. It helps the growth of our federation as well as the Rwandan basketball community.”
“I’d also want to thank NBA Africa for collaborating through different programs, especially for uplifting women and girls in Basketball. We still have a long way to go, but we feel that with these initiatives, we can go far” said FERWABA Vice President and FIBA newly elected FIBA Central board member
Speaking with Franck Traore, the NBA Africa head of Basketball operations, he highlighted the relevance of this camp to young aspiring basketball players as well as the value of grassroots programs in African basketball growth.
Franck Traore, Head of Basketball Operations at NBA Africa
He said; “We decided to developprograms and create a platform for young ladies from across the continent to be able to showcase the talent and at the same time work closely with some of the top coaches we have on the continent so that they can really improve the skill set and become better basketball players.”
He continued, “We as Africans need to continue to develop and create competition. Because for you to gain experience, you need to play in high-level competition. And that’s what the other part of the world has.”
“They do have competition, and they do have grassroots programming, so they have an entire ecosystem That enables the youth in their respective continents to be able to compete at the highest level. And in Africa, I think we’re very, very close.” Declared NBA Africa’s head of operations.
The top-notch program for discovering and nurturing the most gifted young African basketball players also includes 14 female coaches from throughout the continent.
Indeed, Mr Franck claims that the camps have been a success from their inception, and that the improvement is evident
“For these three years, we continued to work together with our partners to be able to put together this camp, and every year you know the the skill level has improved tremendously.”
“We use these camps for talent identification, for FIBA side and even from the NBA side and then we also use them to bring young coaches from all over the continent, to be trained by the instructors that we have so that when they go back in their countries, they can continue to work with the youth there.” Said Mr. Franck Traore
As mentioned by Jean Michel Ramaroson, a member of the FIBA Africa executive committee in charge of development, holding camps is one of the strategies used to develop talents in a relatively short period of time.
Jean Michel Ramaroson, a member of the FIBA Africa executive committee
“This camp is all about developing talent and sharing experiences with coaches from a variety of countries on this continent as well as FIBA and NBA experts.”
“In Africa, we need more skilled players. With camps one of the tools to develop talents in a very short time, we are certain that the children will receive an adequate package.”
According to FIBA, these seminars are also intended to empower young aspiring Basketballers with skills to ignite change via basketball, as well as opportunities for self-development and building leadership and a sense of belonging
Twelve of the 38 participants are from Rwanda, and six of the 14 coaches here learning from instructors are Rwandans as well, including current National team captain Charlotte Umugwaneza.
The bulk of these young females competed in this year’s FIBA Africa U-16 Championship, and both the NBA and FIBA anticipate them to thrive in next year’s U-18 continental championship as a result of this endeavour.
These Youth camps have reached 43 countries since the inaugural event in 2021. The first two camps drew a total of 90 young girls.
NBA and FIBA Africa have been collaborating in different grassroots programs, and their joint efforts resulted in the African continent’s first professional basketball competition.
