Jimmy Mulisa proposed renaming Amahoro Stadium”President Kagame”

Jimmy Mulisa proposed renaming Amahoro Stadium”President Kagame”

After the Ministry of Sports announced a competition for architects to design the logo for Stade Amahoro, Jimmy Mulisa, a former player for APR FC and the national team ‘Amavubi, requested that the stadium be named after President Paul Kagame.

This edifice, which has a rich football history in Rwanda, opened its doors in 1987 and has the best sports infrastructure in the region.

As time passed and the world progressed, the amahoro Stadium became one of the least qualified to hold international games. It needed to be renovated at this point in order to be used as a venue for events.

It will be in the first category according to FIFA requirements and the second according to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in addition to having a capacity of 45,000 people.

This degree of competition is one of the reasons why the Ministry of Sports, in an announcement made on Friday, April 14, 2023, tells all those who want to compete in creating the logo for the new stadium.

Following this story, Jimmy Mulisa, the agent for the Amavubi National Team, tweeted to his followers that “a better stadium should be called Paul Kagame Stadium.”

 

Not only him, but others asked if its name will remain “Peace Stadium”.

The Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Niyonkuru Zephanie, said that they do not plan to change the name of Stade Amahoro, unless someone comes to buy it.

He said, “The name is that, but the things of the gaming houses if necessary you can change it, it is not a miracle. The way these things work, you can go to the contract and buy the ‘Contract on the Name’. You saw that after the State of Rwanda attended the Bank of Kigali, which was ‘Kigali Arena’ became ‘BK Arena’.”

He continued, “It is not surprising that the stadium would be renamed. The government’s plan is to approach the private sector in order to be able to manage it. It would [change the name] when we have a partnership with the private sector.”

A few days ago when Rwanda hosted the FIFA General Assembly, there was a homecoming event at the Kigali Stadium, which was renovated and renamed “Kigali Pelé Stadium” because of the team of the Brazilian Edson Arantes do Nascimento [Pelé] in football. The world. This has been the trigger for many to suspect that the Amahoro Stadium will change its name.

The Amahoro Stadium’s objectives in terms of sports and entertainment are reflected in all of the submissions, which must include at least three competing designs.

The individual who seeks out others to create the logo in this competition to modify the logo will receive 1 million Frw, while the second place winner will receive 500000 Frw.

Since March 2023, various companies have been working on the renovation of Stade Amahoro, which started their work and is expected to be completed in 2024.