Rwanda’s national football team, Amavubi, begun its preparations on Sunday morning at Amahoro stadium ahead of the CECAFA Challenge Cup set to be held in Kenya from December 3.
The team checked into camp at Hotel La Palisse in Nyamata on Saturday evening and held its first training session on Sunday and in attendance were eight players namely Eric Ndayishimiye, Usengimana Faustin, Rutanga Eric, Manzi Thierry, Niyonzima Olivier, Mukunzi Yannick, Manishimwe Djabel, all from Rayon Sports and Mbogo Ally from SC Kiyovu.
Other players checked into camp at Hotel La Palisse in Nyamata on Sunday evening following the climax of match day eight of the Azam Rwanda Premier League.
Full house is expected in Monday’s double training session which will be held at Amahoro stadium at 9am and 16h00 respectively.
Speaking to Media on Sunday, head coach Antoine Hey said, “We nominated 23 players on Friday to start camp on Saturday. We had this morning eight players in training, the others are playing this afternoon their league matches and will join the camp tonight. We will have training schedule on Monday two times, same on Tuesday and we will only train once on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon before flying to Nairobi on Friday afternoon,”
“We have included a new faces in the squad, all other players have been with us a while now, they have done extremely well in the last couple of months and now our players have a chance to show that they want to be part of the CHAN team that is playing in Morocco in January and it’s a fair chance for these players to prove that they deserve to be in the team that is going to Morocco.
“All in all, we have a very young team, very young players and all of them are playing in the local league, it gives them the opportunity now in Kenya to gain experience and show what they are capable of and to show that they are an option when it comes to the selection of the CHAN squad,” added the German-born tactician.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s Harambee Stars also checked into camp on Sunday and will hold their first training session on Monday under the tutelage of new Harambee Stars coach Paul Put.
Rwanda face Harambee stars of Kenya, Kilimanjaro Stars of Tanzania, the Zanzibar Heroes and guest team the Mediterranean Knights of Libya, who are also preparing for the 2018 CHAN finals in Morocco.
Rwanda’s opening match is on December 3 against hosts Kenya, they will face next face Zanzibar on Dec. 5; take on Libya on December 7 before concluding the group stage action with a date against Tanzania on December 9.
Rwanda has won the regional tournament once in 1999 after beating 3-1 Kenya in the final at Amahoro National Stadium. In 2015, they lost the final to eventual 14-time winners Uganda in the tournament held in Ethiopia.
Rwanda full 23-man squad
Goalkeepers: Kimenyi Yves (APR Fc), Nzarora Marcel (Police Fc) and Eric Ndayishimiye (Rayon Sports Fc)
Defenders: Rugwiro Herve (APR Fc), Omborenga Fitina (APR Fc), Imanishimwe Emmanuel (APR Fc), Manzi Thierry (Rayon Sports), Usengimana Faustin (Rayon Sports), Rutanga Eric (Rayon Sports), Kayumba Soter (AS Kigali), Iradukunda Eric (AS Kigali) and Mbogo Ally (SC Kiyovu).
Midfielders: Bizimana Djihad (APR Fc), Hakizimana Muhadjiri (APR Fc), Nshimiyimana Amran (APR Fc), Mukunzi Yannick (Rayon Sports), Manishimwe Djabel (Rayon Sports), Niyonzima Ally (AS Kigali) and Niyonzima Olivier (Rayon Sports).
Forwards: Nshuti Innocent (APR Fc), Sekamana Maxime (APR Fc), Mico Justin (Police Fc), Biramahire Abeddy (Police Fc)
Photo Credit: Ruhagoyacu.com
Source: Ferwafa.rw
The Express News
