Rwandan football legend Olivier Karekezi has said that the biggest challenge preventing APR FC from achieving the level of success it once enjoyed is the club’s practice of overhauling its squad every year.
Karekezi made the remarks during an interview with Radio Rwanda on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, as he prepares to assist the Confederation of African Football (CAF) with the draws for the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup.
Long-Term Recruitment Was a Key Strength
The former striker explained that when he joined APR FC in 1998 from Intare FC’s youth team, one of the club’s greatest strengths was its careful and long-term recruitment strategy. He recalled that players were closely monitored before being signed, citing Abdoul Sibomana as one of the successful acquisitions made through that approach.
Frequent Changes Affect Team Performance
Karekezi also argued that the club’s frequent changes of players and coaches have prevented it from delivering the consistent results expected of one of Rwanda’s biggest football clubs.
“The current APR FC can achieve the same success, but the problem is that when you replace players every year, it takes a lot to rebuild and produce outstanding results again. In our APR team, we had played together for a long time and understood each other very well. I believe that was one of the key factors behind our success.”
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Importance of Stability and Continuity
He added: “The club’s management always stood by us and supported us. The current team is also well supported, but I don’t know why they are not producing the expected results. Every new coach comes with different objectives, and when you keep changing players, the style of play also changes. If the club were to keep the same group of players together for at least two years, they would perform much better.”
Karekezi’s APR FC Journey
Now based in Sweden, Karekezi played for APR FC from 1998 to 2004 before returning for a second spell between 2011 and 2013. He later served as head coach of both Kiyovu Sports and Rayon Sports.
