First civilian FERWAFA boss since 1994
Since 1994, the country’s football governing body has always been headed by one of the top military brass, until recently when the monotony was broken. For the first time, a civilian, Celestin Ntagungira aka Abega, took over as the president of FERWAFA. Abega replaced Brig. Gen. Jean Bosco Kazura who resigned toward the end of last year amid claims of mismanagement and a host of Amavubi underperformance.
To football fans, that came as a surprise.
Political influence in sports in most countries around the world has always resulted in poor performance, yet such political connection necessary to open doors for policy and financial support.
Yet, if the sport is left to real sportsmen and women, fans cannot be blamed when they raise their ante and demand the success of their teams in the playing field.
Was Abega the right man for the job? True. Abega, 45, married with three children has been around football and football administration for long. In1997 he became a CAF/FIFA international referee overseeing many matches internationally
Being around the sport since the early 1990’s, having experience in national and international refereeing, being acknowledgeable about local administrative problems and being aware of CAF/FIFA rules qualifies Celestin Ntagungira to head FERWAFA. Through his intimate knowledge of the game, we believe he can lead to a turnaround of the country’s soccer.