Rwanda are all set to showcase themselves on the global stage when they host the ICC World T20 Africa “B” qualifiers from Jul 07th – 14, 2018 at the iconic Gahanga Oval cricket stadium in the city of Kigali. Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and host’s Rwanda will take part in a double round-robin format, from which the top two teams will qualify for the Africa Finals in 2019.
The Rwf 950 million state-of-the-art international cricket stadium in Gahanga Sector, Kicukiro District is one of the best designed structures in World Cricket in the past decade or so, whose construction since 2016 was overseen by Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation (RCSF), an NGO that is registered in Rwanda and the UK.
Although it will be the first major ICC tournament to take place at the venue, International cricket has already been staged at the iconic venue, with Zambia visiting last month for a 5-match T20 series and Women’s team’s from Kenya and Uganda visiting for the “Kwibuka24 Cricket for Peace” T20 tournament.
“This is an exciting and historic time for Rwandan cricket. We take great pride in being afforded the opportunity to host a tournament of this magnitude, because it shows that we are headed in the right direction,” Rwanda Cricket Association president Eddie Mugarura told ICC.
The stadium provides the opportunity for Rwandan youth to get involved in not just Cricket, but other socio-cultural activities as well. More so, it gives them hope for a much better future than what has happened in the past in the country.
Although Rwanda will be the least experienced team in the tournament, the home conditions and the crowd support could very well spur them to go beyond their limits and beat their much fancied opponents in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
