Rwandan Premier League champions APR FC will not deviate from their strategy of promoting local players and homegrown talent despite their upcoming CAF Champions League campaign, according to the club’s vice chairman.
The army side dethroned Rayon Sports to win their 17th league title earlier this year, and will subsequently represent Rwanda in Africa’s premier club competition.
“We have decided to stick to our strategy of nurturing homegrown talent, as we feed the national teams,” Major General Mubarak Muganga told KweséESPN, “and we shall not change the rule to recruit foreign players.
“We know it is very competitive playing on the continent without scouting some foreign players, but we shall stick to our methodology which will eventually pay off,” he added.
APR formulated a plan in 2013 to give a chance to young, local players in bid to become the top club in Africa.
They bolster those inexperienced talents by recruiting some of the top players in the Rwandan top flight, and haven’t used a foreign player since the 2011/12 season.
APR FC’s rivals Rayon Sports became the first Rwandan team to reach the group stage of a CAF competition this year.
They reached the quarter-final of the Confederation Cup before being eliminated by Nigeria’s Enyimba.