Africa-Press – Rwanda. It was a surprising development last week to see one of the brightest talents in Rwandan football, Kevin Muhire, join South Sudan side Jamus FC Juba on a one-year deal following the expiration of his contract with Rayon Sports.
No disrespect to any team, but for a player of the calibre of Muhire to agree to join a team in a lesser-known league should be a bit of a concern to people in the sports fraternity.
Yes! Everyone needs money, we all work for money, but sometimes we must know our level and recognise our potential.
Over the years, the former Rayon Sports captain has been a football journeyman. His professional career started a decade ago with Rayon Sports, and he has played for foreign teams five times already, before he returned to the fold of the Blues.
Muhire, 26, has featured for El Makasa, El Dakhila, and Talaea El Gaish in Egypt, as well as Saham Club in Oman and Al Yarmouk in Kuwait. Currently, he is at Jamus FC Juba in South Sudan.
The enterprising midfielder had a good season with Rayon, providing 11 assists and scoring one goal. These statistics are not bad for a central/attacking midfielder. This is a player who, just a few months ago, was linked to Azam FC as a replacement for Feisal Salum, who is being courted by Kaizer Chiefs.
Why don’t Rwandan players move to big teams?
The biggest challenge in Rwandan football is marketing players. Anyone who tells you Rwanda doesn’t have talent is lying to you. We have seen the likes of Emmanuel Imanishimwe and Bonheur Mugisha competing with big players in big leagues on the African continent.
Unlike West Africa, where players are marketed a bit better, examples being Ghanaian, Nigerian, Senegalese, and Malian players, you cannot find the same thing in Rwanda. If Muhire was from Ghana, he would have been packaged well and attracted not less than $600,000 from some of the big teams on the African continent.
Sadly, even following his 11 assists in the 2024/25 season, there are no highlights of his output for the season on YouTube. His managers and agents are not up to the task and cannot even project the boy well.
Again, the media in Rwanda are also not helping the players. Yes! You must cherish your local language, but remember it doesn’t travel beyond the borders of Rwanda and Burundi realistically. Even if you want to project a good player and write an article in Kinyarwanda or talk about the player in the same language, how will a top team abroad that wants to sign him understand what you are saying?
Muhire deserves better
As I stated earlier, Muhire deserves a better club in a stronger footballing country. This is a player who is a key member of the main national team and even captains the locally based Amavubi team.
I don’t know the amount of money Jamus FC Juba offered for Muhire, but the level of football in South Sudan is even lower than in Rwanda. Jamus FC Juba doesn’t have any history in continental competitions.
I believe Muhire is an excellent player who has what it takes to compete at a greater level.
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