It was a great year for Rwandan football during which a host of players had great outings at club and national team levels.
Emmanuel Imanishimwe
The AS FAR Rabat left-back was by far
He was very instrumental for the Moroccan army club that won their first league title since 2008 when they lifted the Botola league in June.
On the international scene, he played out of a possible seven games that Amavubi played in 2023. He only missed the last
Imanishimwe was arguably the man of the match as
Ange Mutsinzi
The centre back had a great season with Norwegian second tier side Jerv playing 30 league games where he scored twice and provided two assists.
Jerv could not survive the Tippeligaen but Mutsinzi who captained the club a number of times was among the most exciting players in the division. He is unlikely to follow them to the lower league with potential suitors chasing his signature.
On the national team front, he featured in all of Amavubi's seven games in 2023 and provided the assist for
It was an outstanding year for the pacy attacker who was very efficient for both club and country.
The winger played a vital role as APR retained the league title with some crucial goals for the club.
He was also Amavubi's star man, having bagged two crucial goals in seven games. His goal earned
Mugisha was also on target, as he scored the second goal in
Djihad Bizimana
The Rwandan captain had a torrid time in the first half of the year with
In the
He has played 16 league games for the club so far this season, scoring once and providing one assist.
The Amavubi skipper's contribution is one of the main reasons why Kryvbas are at the top of the table in the league ahead of the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk, Dnipro and Dynamo Kyiv.
Of the 16 games that Bizimana has started, Kryvbas have lost just once.
On the international scene, the holding midfielder has been ever present in all of Amavubi's games in 2023. Since getting adequate playing time at club level, he has been immense for his country.
Bizimana was unplayable in midfield against
Hakim Sahabo
The 18-year-old offensive midfielder had a fantastic year as far as club and country are concerned.
He was the key player for LOSC Lille U19 during the first half of the season before moving to Belgian outfit Standard Liege on
Sahabo has gone on to play 14 games for the Team B of Standard Liege in the
He also played five games for Amavubi in 2023 and provided the assist in 1-1 draw against
Sahabo presents fantastic football skills and is always eager to improve. More are yet to come from the youngster and 2024 could be one of his defining years of his football career.
Lague Byiringiro
The attacker's first season at Swedish third tier club Sandviken IF is only described as a success as opposed to what one would predict.
Byiringiro has been in fine form, bagging eight goals in 21 league games which helped the club to secure promotion to the Superettan.
The
But when he was deemed fit again, he started banging in the goals and was the club's second top scorer after
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