On Kigali’s pitches, young footballers endure tough conditions and dream of a career in Europe

KIGALI – A six-by-eight feet concrete room houses all of Sharif Cyubahiro’s belongings. Clothes and bags are packed into a cardboard box, sitting alongside worn boots, sneakers and notebooks imprinted with pictures of football stars.

Organised neatly, these items surround a straw mat and mattress that Sharif, 16, sleeps on.

Since 2022, he has been living within the office premises of Umuri Foundation, a charity and social enterprise offering talented youths opportunities to play football, in the Rukiri district of Kigali, Rwanda.

Sharif, like many young Rwandans, aspires to become a professional footballer in Europe.

“I prefer to stay in the office. I go to trainings with my friends and I feel at home. It’s very fun,” he said.

“That’s why I plan to stay here to make my own life, my own career. Then after this, I want to play abroad in Europe.”

Sharif was born in the city of Nyanza, about a two-hour drive away from the capital Kigali, where he fell in love with football.

He practised every day, kicking a ball around sandy fields with two plastic bottles used as a makeshift goal. Until his father emigrated to Uganda and left their family behind.

Then nine, Sharif relocated to Kigali to continue pursuing his football dream. While living with his aunt’s family, Sharif trialled for football academies and eventually found one, Top Kids Gikondo, willing to train him for free.

But Sharif’s aunt did not approve.

“They told me football is for kids living on the streets, kids who are not educated. It is a very bad image for them,” said the right-back. “They told me if I want to keep playing football, I need to leave their home.”

And so Sharif did, when Umuri founder Jimmy Mulisa offered him a way out after witnessing his precocious footballing ability on a scouting trip in 2022.

Mulisa, 39, who is also the Rwanda national team assistant coach, said: “Sharif would have ended up living on the streets. I saw a player who had potential.

“So I asked him to come here where he can play with our team in the third division and at least he has food to eat and a place to stay.”

Besides Sharif, the foundation provides shelter to three other players and trains about 200 more.

Patrick Ishimwe, 18, joined Umuri in 2017 and has lived in their office since 2020. He was left homeless after his mother remarried and abandoned him.

“Playing in the third division makes me feel like a professional. I feel proud and the experience gives me hope I can make it to Europe one day,” he said.

The players are split among the elite team (who compete in the third division), Under-15, Under-12 and Under-9 sides.

Three times a week, they train at a fully furnished artificial pitch adjacent to the Kigali Pele Stadium. These pitches are a rare commodity in Kigali and bookings cost from 100,000 to 150,000 Rwandan francs (S$111-167) for a two-hour session.

Most of the foundation’s funding comes from partnerships with the city council and Uefa Foundation, which also donates football equipment.

While Umuri develops underprivileged and talented youths at no cost, they are also supported by parents from wealthier backgrounds who pay 30,000 francs monthly.

One such parent is Jean Claude Ndayambaje, who enrolled his son in 2018 and also serves as Sharif’s guardian, ferrying him to and from training.

The 43-year-old, who is a technology manager at a social enterprise, said: “When I heard from Jimmy (Mulisa) about Sharif’s life story, I was shocked.

“He is still a high school student and the way he combines sports and living conditions is very hard. Before he joined Umuri, he could not even afford to get a meal at school and yet he still comes to train in the afternoon. So I decided to play my part.”

On top of paying Sharif’s school fees, Ndayambaje gives him weekly pocket money of about US$10 (S$13.60) for daily expenses.

He added: “I see talent and discipline in him, combined with the way he is resilient. But there are many other kids here who have similar situations. I am just setting an example so hopefully other parents can do the same.”

There is no shortage of talent within the foundation. Dubbed by his teammates and coaches as the next Lionel Messi, Prince Iradukunda, 13, is a fleet-footed striker regarded as Umuri’s brightest young talent.

Head coach of the elite team Fabrice Rugamba said: “His technique is good, and he thinks very well. He understands what I tell him very quickly which is very impressive.”

When he was nine, Prince was called up to the national U-15 team in preparation for the East and Central Africa U-15 Championship held in Eritrea. But he was dropped from the final squad at the 11th hour owing to his age.

Prince said: “I remember I cried so hard. They told me I was still growing so I couldn’t go with the team. But I still believe I will have the chance to play for my national team.”

The speedy forward, along with Sharif, is among 11 players whom Mulisa has shortlisted to send to European clubs.

Mulisa, who played for several Belgian third-tier clubs from 2006 to 2009, said: “Through my networks, I hope to develop them into top quality players. Our project will take two years to put them on a standard whereby they are competitive enough for Europe.”

Back in Umuri’s office in Rukiri, Sharif and Patrick gather with their friends in the late afternoon to watch English Premier League matches on a tiny feature phone.

Sharif, who wears the No. 24 jersey for Umuri because of his idol – Chelsea defender Reece James – cracks a smile and his eyes sparkle when this reporter shows him a photo of the Blues players lifting the Champions League trophy in 2021.

“I want to be like them one day. That’s my dream.”