{"id":119126,"date":"2026-02-05T17:11:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:11:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation"},"modified":"2026-02-05T17:34:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:34:48","slug":"bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation","title":{"rendered":"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Etincelles FC president Enock Ndagijimana has acknowledged the club\u2019s poor run of results this season but has thrown his support behind caretaker coach Abdoul \u201cBekeni\u201d Mbarushimana, expressing confidence that he can steer the team away from relegation.<\/p>\n

The Rubavu-based side recently dismissed Djuma Masudi along with his entire backroom staff following a disappointing first round of the Rwanda Premier League.<\/p>\n

Etincelles have struggled since the start of the campaign, managing just one win in 18 matches, a run that has left them rooted to the bottom of the table with 11 points.<\/p>\n

Bekeni, who previously served as the club\u2019s technical director, has now been entrusted with the responsibility of rescuing the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cBekeni has long been associated with the club as technical director and we believe that, with him and other new members of the coaching staff that we are planning to sign, the team is in good hands and can survive,\u201d Ndagijimana told Times Sport.<\/p>\n

Bekeni becomes the third head coach to take charge of Etincelles this season. Innocent Seninga began the campaign but departed in October after just two months, paving the way for Masudi\u2019s short-lived tenure.<\/p>\n

While some supporters welcomed the decision to overhaul the technical bench, others warned that deeper structural issues must be addressed if the club is to survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team is disorganised. We are tired of persistent mismanagement and constant changes of coaches,\u201d said Valence Hakizimana, a 43-year-old Etincelles supporter from Gisenyi Sector in Rubavu District.<\/p>\n

\u201cBekeni may be the right choice in difficult moments, but the management needs to be more serious,\u201d another fan said.<\/p>\n

Etincelles return to action on February 7, when they welcome Musanze FC to Umuganda Stadium.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Etincelles FC president Enock Ndagijimana has acknowledged the club\u2019s poor run of results this season but has thrown his support behind caretaker coach Abdoul \u201cBekeni\u201d Mbarushimana, expressing confidence that he can steer the team away from relegation. The Rubavu-based side recently dismissed Djuma Masudi along with his entire backroom staff following a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":119125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[9296,4046,758],"class_list":["post-119126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-abdul-bekeni-mbarushimana","tag-etincelles","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nBekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Etincelles FC president Enock Ndagijimana has acknowledged the club\u2019s poor run of results this season but has thrown his ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Etincelles FC president Enock Ndagijimana has acknowledged the club\u2019s poor run of results this season but has thrown his ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-05T17:11:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-05T17:34:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"624\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-05T17:11:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-05T17:34:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation\"},\"wordCount\":299,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Abdul Bekeni Mbarushimana\",\"Etincelles\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation\",\"name\":\"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation - Rwanda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-05T17:11:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-05T17:34:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Etincelles FC president Enock Ndagijimana has acknowledged the club\u2019s poor run of results this season but has thrown his ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":624,\"caption\":\"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\",\"name\":\"Rwanda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation - Rwanda","description":"Etincelles FC president Enock Ndagijimana has acknowledged the club\u2019s poor run of results this season but has thrown his ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation","og_description":"Etincelles FC president Enock Ndagijimana has acknowledged the club\u2019s poor run of results this season but has thrown his ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation","og_site_name":"Rwanda","article_published_time":"2026-02-05T17:11:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-05T17:34:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":624,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation","datePublished":"2026-02-05T17:11:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-05T17:34:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation"},"wordCount":299,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg","keywords":["Abdul Bekeni Mbarushimana","Etincelles","Rwanda"],"articleSection":["all news","Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation","name":"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation - Rwanda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-05T17:11:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-05T17:34:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Etincelles FC president Enock Ndagijimana has acknowledged the club\u2019s poor run of results this season but has thrown his ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770300218.988894.jpg","width":1000,"height":624,"caption":"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bekeni-gets-backing-as-etincelles-look-to-avoid-relegation#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bekeni gets backing as Etincelles look to avoid relegation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/","name":"Rwanda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}