The Big Fella in Kigali: 10 year anniversary of cricket in Rwanda.

The following details were taken from a Press Release detailing the 10 year anniversary of cricket in Rwanda.

Rwanda Cricket Fraternity Celebrates 10 years at a Gala Event

Kigali – The Rwanda cricket fraternity wrapped up a series of events that preceded the celebrations of a remarkable 10 year success at a gala dinner to fundraise for a new cricket ground at the Manor Hotel.

The Celebration, held under the theme “Growing with every step” was graced by special guests in South African International Loots Bosman, International Cricket Council Africa Chief Cassim Sulliman, regional and international guests, sponsors, well wishers and friends of Rwandan cricket as well as founding members of the game.  Since RCA’s approval by the Ministry of Sports in December 2000 and becoming an Affiliate Member of the ICC in June 2003, the then, little known game has steadily grown far exceeding anyone’s expectations.

Thrilled to be hosting such a momentous occasion, Mr. Charles Haba, the President of the Rwanda Cricket Association said, “We are all very proud of this accomplishment and we are grateful to our supporters who helped us get here.”  He cited, “A decade after its founding, the Rwanda Cricket Association now boasts over 1000 registered cricket players and 11 competitive clubs.  He also added that the progress of the development program is very encouraging and at the moment, there are more than 15 secondary schools playing cricket, more tournaments and most of all, tremendous improvement in quality of cricket being played.

In line with marking a decade of cricket in Rwanda, the main ground at Kicukiro is undergoing a major facelift and Haba attributed this major milestone to extremely dedicated members of the cricket fraternity and funds from the Africa Cricket Association and RCA.”

Haba is not complacent about the achievements of the RCA and has set the goals higher.  “We intend to put up one new ground every year for the next two years.  2011 is going to be very busy with the introduction of an improved and more competitive senior women’s league and an annual tourney for the four universities that will spice up the already action-packed calendar.  We very much look forward to the next 10 years.”

The gala dinner was characterized by guests treated to a delicious cuisine, dancing, dazzling performances and lucky guests went away with lots of prizes including return trips to Dubai, Nairobi, laptops, gorilla trekking permits, trendy phones, dinner coupons, nights at the Manor Hotel, internet modems, fuel coupons, printers and lots more.

The most fascinating news of the night was a pledge by the Honorable Minister of Sports that the Government of Rwanda would support cricket to get a ground hence enabling the game to attract international matches.

The evening was crowned with Haba calling upon everyone to keep with them as we “Grow with every Step.”