From the President Juvénal Habyarimana Trophy to the countless cups won on Rwandan soil, and finally to the regional triumph in the CECAFA Kagame Cup: the story of Rayon Sports is a story of passion, generations, and unwavering loyalty.
It took 28 years. Twenty-eight years during which generations of Rayon Sports supporters came and went, while trophies continued to fill the club’s cabinets. But the great regional trophy kept eluding them.
Last night, it finally came home.
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Yesterday, in front of a packed and electrified Amahoro Stadium, Rayon Sports wrote a new chapter in its history. After a 1–1 draw in regulation time, Daniel Muhoza scored the decisive goal in extra time, sending an entire blue-and-white nation into celebration. Rayon Sports thus claimed its second regional CECAFA title.
1. A history that goes back decades
To understand the emotion behind this victory, we have to go back several decades.
Rayon Sports is one of the historic clubs of Rwandan football. Its trophy cabinet tells a story of titles, generations of players, and the extraordinary loyalty of its supporters.
At national level, the club has won 11 Rwanda Cups, in particular in 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1989, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2016 and 2023.
2. The famous “Habyarimana Trophy”
The journey begins far back in the history of the club, in the early great chapters of Rwandan football.
The President Juvénal Habyarimana Trophy belongs to that old memory of Rwandan football, when Rayon Sports was already establishing itself as one of the country’s most popular and feared clubs.
At the time, the national cup was known under different names, including the July 5 Cup, the President Habyarimana Trophy, and the President’s Cup, before officially becoming the Peace Cup in 1995.
This history explains why, for many Rayon Sports supporters, trophies are not simply objects displayed in a cabinet: they are the memory of several generations.
In 1998: Rayon Sports conquers East Africa
The ambition of Gikundiro has never been confined to Rwanda’s borders.
In 1998, Rayon Sports achieved a historic feat by winning the CECAFA Club Championship, defeating Zanzibar’s Mlandege 2–1 in the final.
It was Rayon Sports’ first regional triumph.
The competition would later become known as the CECAFA Kagame Cup.
That is why, historically speaking, it is more accurate to say that Rayon Sports won the CECAFA Club Championship in 1998, before the competition adopted the Kagame Cup name.
(3) Congratulations, Gikundiro !
Twenty-eight years later, destiny gave Rayon Sports an extraordinary opportunity: a final at home, in Kigali, in front of its own supporters.And Gikundiro did not let the opportunity slip away.
Last night, Rayon Sports did not merely win a cup.It awakened a memory, brought several generations of supporters together, and reminded the entire region that Rwandan football has a history, a passion, and great ambitions.
Rayon Sports 2 – 1 Gor Mahia
Rayon Sports — Gikundiro, our pride!
Mwalimu Hakizimana Maurice is a teacher, a translator-interpreter, and a writer based in Paris, France.
Professor Hakizimana Maurice is the author of the book “UTABA AMATEKA NTABONA ITAKA” (Editions Scribes).
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