Rwanda head coach Vincent Mashami wants his side to play friendly matches ahead of the three-week CHAN tournament between January and February 2020.
As Amavubi prepare to participate in the forthcoming CHAN tournament, head coach Vicent Mashami believes that the squad need to play friendly games for extended analysis of the team’s tactical formations.
“Friendly matches are very important and will help us prepare better for the tournament. We are working on different tactical formations and we plan to test these in the friendlies,” said Vincent Mashami.
Rwanda is pitted in Group C together with Morocco, Togo, and neighbours Uganda for the games scheduled to start 16 January 2020, and Amavubi will face Uganda Cranes in both sides’ opening games on the 18th January 2020.
Uganda national team is not resting as they set off yesterday for a Pre-CHAN mini-tournament scheduled to be played between 1st and 7th January 2020 with four teams taking part including hosts Cameroon, Uganda, Niger, and Zambia.
The calls from Vincent Mashami for friendly games also came at a time when the team is faced with COVID-19 adversity. It is believed that 3 Amavubi players plus a kit manager tested positive for the virus right before the squad went into camp at the Golden Tulip in Nyamata.
Rwanda is not the only nation that has reported positive COVID-19 test from squad members as Zimbabwe who are in Group A with hosts Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Mali has also returned nine positive tests.
However, amidst all these developing situations, the continent’s football governing body has set up a COVID-19 medical team. There is now a total of 60 COVID-19 medical officers, whose task is to enforce the International Match Protocol during FIFA / CAF competitions. The medical officers are trained by the Development Department and the Medical Committee, and they perform their work on matchdays and non-matchdays to ensure the integrity of the game players.
