In a quest for tickets to the 12 & Under African Junior Teams competition (AJTC – U12) slated for September 2022, Rwanda will host the qualifiers in Zone 4 for boys and girls, from 27 April to 1 May 2022, at RP-IPRC Kigali courts.
The fifth edition of the East African Junior Teams competition for boys and girls of 12 years and under will bring together five countries from Zone 4, namely, the host country Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. A total of 40 players are expected to participate. 20 boys and 20 girls.
In a press conference on Tuesday, April 26, The President of the Rwanda Tennis Federation, Theoneste Karenzi, confirmed that preparations are going well and emphasized how ready Rwanda is to host this tournament.
“We are on the right track. Everything is ready, the courts are ready and no problems so far.”
Pointing out why Rwanda was awarded the right to host two consecutive junior competitions, the patron of the Federation highlighted the three aspects criteria for choosing Rwanda as the host.
“We are hosting these tournaments at the request of the International Tennis Federation ITF and the continental governing body of tennis in Africa, CAT.”
He added, “In choosing Rwanda, first and foremost, they looked at the status quo of the country in the region, second is the infrastructure readiness, and thirdly, the hosting experience & hospitality. And to top it all, the last edition we hosted was successfully organized.”
Karenzi goes on to say that he has confidence the Rwandan team will perform well due to the well-preparedness of the tournament. “Our team is well prepared, we cannot blame ourselves. We tried our best and hope it will work out.”
The winner in the boy’s category and the best 2 girls’ teams from this 2022 East African Junior Teams U-12 competition will qualify to participate in the final event of the African Junior Teams’ Championships for 12 years and under (AJTC – 12U) scheduled in September 2022 in a yet to be confirmed country.
Rwanda Tennis Federation, RTF want Rwanda to be an attractive destination for competitions as they have on-standard infrastructures and the country’s ambitions are to become a hub for sports events by hosting more tournaments including major ones like Basketball Africa League
The East African Junior Teams U-12 competition is expected to be followed by the U-14 & U-16 East African Championships. Taking place at the same venue, Kigali from 3rd May 2022.
