Amavubi are through to the knockout stages.
Rwanda was on Tuesday night gripped by joy and wild celebrations as the national team Amavubi progressed to the knockout stage of the African Nations Championship (CHAN 2020), after beating Togo 3-2, in a highly competitive game which saw the wasps finish second in Group C, behind group leaders and defending champions Morocco.
Celebrations exploded in Kigali after the final whistle as people briefly forgot about the lockdown to take to the streets to jubilate after the tense game which saw first timers and in-form Togo take the lead in the 38th minute, through Yendoutie Richard Nane but Rwanda equalised through Olivier Niyonzima at the end of the first half.
Togo took the lead again in the 58th minute through Bilali Akoro but Rwanda immediately equalized in the 60th minute through the captain Jacques Tuyisenge and in the 66th minute, substitute Ernest Sugira scored to give Amavubi the lead in Limbe Stadium.
Despite the Togo offensive, the Rwandan national team held on to their lead, winning the game 3-2 to the disappointment of the Togolese youthful team.
After the final whistle, ululations broke out in the city of Kigali as people took to the streets to whistle and jubilate after Amavubi secured a ticket to the knockout stage.
Social media users in different locations of Kigali, from Nyamirambo to Kicukiro and Kimironko shared videos of people in the streets celebrating the hard-earned win.
The Minister of Sports Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju was among those to congratulate Amavubi upon the win, tweeting that “mission accomplished, the win has been secured”, while the State Minister in the Ministry of Culture and Youth Edouard Bamporiki tweeted that it is just the beginning. “When you win, you don’t sit back, instead you use the win to amass efforts for more wins.”.
Earlier in the day, Minister Munyangaju delivered a message to President Paul Kagame, urging the boys to put up a spirited fight and continue to carry the flag higher. Amavubi drew with Morocco and Uganda before the Togo game, progressing with 5 points behind Morocco with seven points.
