Amahoro national stadium which was supposed to host the inaugural veterans’ championship. Photo: Igihe.com
Rwanda has announced the termination of its partnership with EasyGroup EXP, the organizers of the Veteran Clubs World Championship (VCWC 2024).
“This decision comes after careful consideration and mutual agreement between both parties,” writes the Rwanda Development Board on behalf of the government.
“As a result, the World Veteran Clubs Championship scheduled for September 2024 in Kigali has been cancelled. Additionally, the Visit Rwanda brand will no longer be associated with any marketing activities or branding by the event organizers moving forward.”
The innaugural VCWC 2024 was supposed to run from September 1-September 10 in Kigali, and preparations were already on high gear.
It included several features, among others the competition itself, the education forum, economic forum and other events that were expected to attract dignitaries in Rwanda.
They were expected to bring wealth to the tourism sector under the famous Meeting, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition(MICE) products of Rwanda.
As far as football is concerned, said a sports’ analyst, this is a big loss for Rwanda which was lookign forward to hosting some 150 world football stars of all time.
Those include Brasilian Ronaldinho, Michael Own, an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City and the England national team…
Others were looking forward to meeting Camerounian Samuel Eto’s Fils, others the Nigerian Jay-Jya Okocha to mention just a few.
“It is a loss for Rwanda if you ask me,” said the Sports’ analyst.
In a different communique, EasyGroup EXP said that the termination of this contract was a suggestion of Rwanda, but promised, that the VCWC 2024 will still take place with or without Rwanda hosting it.
