SPORTS HAS A NEW HOME?

In recent years, due to the development of sports infrastructure, Rwanda has become a popular venue for hosting major events on the mainland. In 2021 alone, Rwanda hosted four major continental races, including the 75km long-distance race Rwanda Tour in early May. The country has won the right to host the 2025 International Cycling Union (UCI) World Championship. In the past few years, the national flagship cycling race Tour of Rwanda has been upgraded to a 2.1 UCI category race, and it has recently won the right to host the 2021 UCI World Cycling Championship.

But, how about the infrastructure? The Remera Sports Hub, hosting Kigali Arena, and Amahoro Stadium. An aquatic center with swimming pools and other recreational amenities will be developed.

The Kigali Arena is a multifunctional sports facility in the country. It was completed and opened in 2019 and is an integral part of positioning Rwanda as a sports country in the region. Kigali Arena is adjacent to the country’s main Amahoro Stadium. It is the largest indoor arena in East Africa and one of the top ten indoor stadiums in Africa. It can hold 10,000 spectators and it has been used for the Basketball Africa League Qualifiers and music concerts since it was constructed last year. A Turkish firm – Summa?– worked with Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) in executing the mega project that goes down in the annals of Rwandan history as one of the biggest projects to be executed in a short while. There were between 1,000 and 2,000 construction workers on site. By June 2019, 70% of the construction was done. 1,068 Rwandan and 541 Turkish workers were involved in the building of the site.

Claver Gatete, the Minister of Infrastructure said: “The government is set to upgrade Remera into a Modern Sports Center. After the construction of Kigali Arena which complies with international standards, the surrounding facilities will get a facelift and be turned into a Sports Hub,”. Before building Kigali Arena, we had carried out thorough studies so that it becomes a multi-purpose facility and fulfills all international standards. It can host both International basketball competitions and big music shows. That is why we are going to upgrade all surrounding sports facilities to produce a One Sports Center that is in line with international standards,”

Stakeholders in the sports sector praise the country for using sports infrastructure as much as possible because it can inspire local players and teams to work harder in order to achieve better results in international competitions not only in Rwanda but also abroad. For Alexis Sharangabo, Secretary-General of the National Olympic and Sports Committee of Rwanda, having a good sports infrastructure is a good sign, indicating that Rwanda is on the right path of building the future of sports development. Build more facilities nationwide to attract new talents. Can be found and cultivated into future sports stars.

"As a former Olympian, especially athlete, I know what having sports infrastructures means. To have facilities that are on international standards helps teams/players to improve their performances," Sharangabo said. "But we need to see more facilities built from the grassroots level where the majority of talents are born and raised because not everyone can access these high-standard facilities," he said

He added that such facilities also pave an opportunity for Rwanda to boost sports tourism through hosting international tournaments and sports conferences.

"There are chances of hosting more international competitions where our teams can learn experiences from visiting teams but the country can also benefit from revenues generated by these facilities," he said.

As mentioned previously, Kigali Arena has a 10,000-seater capacity in its indoor arena. This means 10,000 people can watch a fiery basketball game, volleyball, tennis and handball. This arena also hosts other entertainment activities such as concerts and festivals. For business tourism, conferencing in the arena has the same capacity.

Kigali Arena has been crucial in cementing Rwanda’s culture by offering a platform where thousands witness and feel they are part of the Rwandan culture. The intent behind the building of the arena was to spur economic and sporting development in Rwanda.