Amavubi skipper Eric Ndayishimiye a.k.a Bakame is upbeat on Rwanda securing the lone CHAN slot when they face Ethiopia
Rwanda men’s senior football team, Amavubi skipper Eric Ndayishimiye says that his team is ready to put up a do or die show and secure a slot for next year’s Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) finals.
Rwanda and Ethiopia will battle for the 16th place in the final tournament of the Total Africa Nations Championship, scheduled for Morocco from January 12th to February 4th, 2018.
The first leg will be played on November 5th, 2017 in Ethiopia and a week later, the return match in Rwanda. Both teams were eliminated in the final round of the qualifiers in the Central-East Zone.
Ndayishimiye a.k.a Bakame told journalists, “We are happy with this golden chance of playing for a place in the CHAN finals. This is a chance which comes once in a life-time hence there is no room for mistakes whatsoever,”
“We will play the two legs against Ethiopia with a mission of qualifying Rwanda for CHAN finals. We held a meeting with our technical team and everyone knows what is at stake. We will not take the game lightly, we must win both legs to be granted qualification,” added the Rayon Sports custodian.
The Amavubi team started training on Monday under the tutelage of head coach German Antoine Hey alongside his assistants Mashami Vincent and Higiro Thomas.
Except AS Kigali skipper Soter Kayumba who was rested following his engagement in his club’s league game against Gicumbi Fc on Sunday, the rest of the summoned players were all present and underwent the day’s double drills.
Amavubi skipper Eric Ndayishimiye seen in a previous training session has stated that Rwanda is ready to staged winning peformances against Ethiopia for a place in CHAN 2018 finals
The national team will train twice at Amahoro stadium on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before jetting out to Addis Ababa on Friday ahead of Sunday’s first leg clash against the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia. The return leg will be played on November 12th in Kigali.
The winner over the two legs will join Uganda and Sudan as representatives of the CECAFA at the next year’s African Nations Championship.
In August, Rwanda missed out of the final place as they lost to Uganda Cranes 2-3 on goal aggregate despite winning the home return leg 2-0.
Ethiopia was also bundled out by Sudan 2-1 on aggregate, leaving Uganda and hosts Kenya to advance as representatives for Central East Zone.
Rwanda reached the quarter final round of the 2016 CHAN tournament where they lost to eventual winners DR Congo following their back to back wins.
The draw for the final tournament is scheduled for November 17th, 2017.
The Total Chan, which is in its 5th edition, is a competition which gathers exclusively players featuring in the national championships of their respective countries.
