Amputee football grows in Rwanda, fostering unity and resilience | Football News
Published On 6 May 20266 May 2026 The players struck their crutches against each other as they chase a football, as well as a larger dream of competing at the global level. Children shriek with joy as they watch a goalkeeper dive to block an attempt with her remaining hand. Amputee football, a seven-a-side version of the game in which players roam the field on crutches and goalkeepers have one arm, has grown steadily in Rwanda over the past decade. Players say they have found a community on the field after embracing a sport some never imagined they could play. For many, it offers not only physical rehabilitation but also a sense of belonging. In the capital Kigali, amputees play to foster healing and social cohesion after traumas that include the country’s darkest period: the 1994 genocide, in which about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by the majority Hutu population over a 100-day period. Nyiraneza Solange was born two years after the genocide and lost her leg at the age of five after falling …
