{"id":119686,"date":"2026-02-12T17:58:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation"},"modified":"2026-02-12T18:37:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:37:57","slug":"meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation","title":{"rendered":"Meet Ren\u00e9 Uwineza, Kiyovu\u2019s new football revelation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Rwandan football could be witnessing the rise of a new star\u2014if 18-year-old Rene\u0301 Uwineza continues on his current path.<\/p>\n<p>Kiyovu SC may have begun the season battling financial constraints and a transfer ban, but the situation opened doors for young talents. Forced to rely on loanees, a handful of senior players, and academy graduates, the club handed opportunities to players eager to prove themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Uwineza seized his chance.<\/p>\n<p>The teenage winger has emerged as one of the standout performers of the 2025\/26 season and is already a strong contender for Young Player of the Year. Known for his relentless work rate, technical quality and creativity on either flank, he has quickly become a key figure at Kiyovu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to keep working hard so that I can raise my level, attract more clubs and maybe, you never know, teams outside Rwanda,\u201d Uwineza told Times Sport.<\/p>\n<p>Despite enjoying an impressive debut senior campaign, he insists he is far from satisfied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am always hungry to improve\u2014not just for one match or one season. I want to reach the international stage,\u201d he said. \u201cIt starts here by challenging myself physically, technically and mentally to become a top player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Uwineza began his journey at Ambassadors Football Academy Rwanda before moving to second-division side Intare FC, where he developed into a mature and intelligent winger. He joined Kiyovu on loan ahead of the current season to gain top-flight experience.<\/p>\n<p>The move has paid off. In 17 appearances, he has scored three goals and provided five assists, showcasing his ability to beat defenders, deliver accurate crosses and influence attacking play.<\/p>\n<p>A two-footed winger comfortable on either side, Uwineza combines pace, agility and sharp vision in the final third. His discipline and work ethic have further set him apart as one of Rwanda\u2019s brightest prospects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is my dream to play at international level, and I must work for it,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to play for great clubs in Africa and beyond and continue to grow and shine in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Backed by talent, determination and ambition, Uwineza represents a promising new generation of Rwandan footballers ready to make their mark.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Rwanda<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. Rwandan football could be witnessing the rise of a new star\u2014if 18-year-old Rene\u0301 Uwineza continues on his current path. Kiyovu SC may have begun the season battling financial constraints and a transfer ban, but the situation opened doors for young talents. Forced to rely on loanees, a handful of senior players, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":119685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[4309,9361,758],"class_list":["post-119686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-kiyovu-sc","tag-rene-uwineza","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Meet Ren\u00e9 Uwineza, Kiyovu\u2019s new football revelation - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rwandan football could be witnessing the rise of a new star\u2014if 18-year-old Rene\u0301 Uwineza continues on his current path. ...\" \/>\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\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Ren\u00e9 Uwineza, Kiyovu\u2019s new football revelation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rwandan football could be witnessing the rise of a new star\u2014if 18-year-old Rene\u0301 Uwineza continues on his current path. ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-12T17:58:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-12T18:37:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770908830.41053.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\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\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Meet Ren\u00e9 Uwineza, Kiyovu\u2019s new football revelation\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-12T17:58:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-12T18:37:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation\"},\"wordCount\":377,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770908830.41053.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Kiyovu SC\",\"Rene Uwineza\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/meet-rene-uwineza-kiyovus-new-football-revelation\",\"name\":\"Meet Ren\u00e9 Uwineza, Kiyovu\u2019s new football revelation - 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