Central Africa: Rwanda Inaugurate FIFA Arena Pitch in Kigali

31 March 2026
This Day (Lagos)

Rwanda has become the sixth African country to benefit from the FIFA Arena project initiative with the inauguration of a mini-pitch in Kigali.

The state-of the art pitch was inaugurated on Monday, 30 March 2026 at the Kagarama Secondary School, located in the Rwandan capital, marks a significant milestone of the East African nation, who joined Algeria, Djibouti, Liberia, Morocco and Niger as the African beneficiaries since the launch of the historic global project.

This inauguration is particularly significant as it represents the first project delivered under the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FIFA and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) aimed at driving sustainable football infrastructure and social impact initiatives.

As part of the partnership, Rwanda will benefit from the construction of 10 FIFA Arena pitches across the country. The other nine sites pencilled for the project are St Joseph (Muhanga), TTC Save (Gisagara), GSOB (Huye), GS Kabare (Ngoma), ES Nyamirama & IPM Mukarange (Kayonza), College Inyemeramihigo (Rubavu), College SINA Gerard (Rulindo), Lycée de Kigali (Nyarugenge).

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

The project is expected to impact positively giving youth from the various communities the opportunity to play football as well as promote social inclusion and personal growth.

FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström inaugurated the mini-pitch accompanied by Rwanda Minister of Sport, Nelly Mukazayire, President of Rwanda Football Federation Fabrice Shema Ngoga, Country Director of AFD Anthea Manassé, amongst others.

Also present were pupils from the host school (Kagarama Secondary School) and surrounding communities who will directly benefit from the facility.

Read the original article on This Day.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2026 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.