Léonce Ntakirutimana, spokesperson for Burundi’s Aigle Noir FC, has said football has nothing to do with politics, stressing that the club is ready to travel to Kigali to face Al-Hilal SC in the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League.
Since January 2024, Burundi has closed its border with Rwanda, accusing Rwanda of supporting the RED Tabara rebel group. Rwanda has denied the allegations, saying it cannot cooperate with Burundians seeking to destabilise their own country.
Rwanda, on the other hand, has accused Burundi of deploying troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo who are collaborating with Congolese forces to support the FDLR, which Rwanda considers a terrorist group seeking to destabilise its security.
Since then, several talks have been held to resolve the issues between Rwanda and Burundi, with decisions made on matters that needed to be addressed. However, relations between the two countries have remained strained.
Club Says Football and Politics Should Remain Separate
Amid the ongoing tensions, Aigle Noir, the reigning Burundi champions, now finds itself scheduled to play in Kigali, where it will face Al-Hilal SC in the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League.
The Sudanese club hosts its international matches in Kigali and won the Rwanda Premier League in its first season in the country, the 2025/26 campaign, due to the war in Sudan.
During a press conference held on Thursday this week, Aigle Noir FC spokesperson Léonce Ntakirutimana was asked whether the club was ready to play in Kigali despite the strained relations between Rwanda and Burundi.
ALSO READ: https://agaciropress.com/basketball-apr-and-patriots-reach-championship-final/
CAF Champions League Tie Set for September
Aigle Noir FC spokesperson Léonce Ntakirutimana said the club has no problem playing in Kigali because it considers Rwandans its brothers.
In response, Ntakirutimana said they had no concerns because football and politics were separate, adding that they consider Rwandans their brothers.
he said: “Didn’t Iran go to play in the United States? Weren’t they exchanging bombs, with one side going to America and the other going to Baghdad? For us, it is not even like that. Football is football, and politics is politics. We will go to Kigali and stay in a five-star hotel.”
He added: “Those people are our brothers. We will be going there to play football and represent Burundi; we will not be going there for political talks. That is all. Don’t expect us to write and ask where we should play. No. Football is football, nothing else. There will be red and yellow cards and the referee’s whistle. The other matters do not concern us.”
ALSO READ: https://agaciropress.com/a-rwandan-student-makes-history-by-reaching-the-north-pole/
Aigle Noir FC will host Al-Hilal SC in the first leg in Burundi on September 5, while the return leg will be played in Kigali on September 11, 2026.
ALSO READ: https://agaciropress.com/burundi-suspended-from-hosting-international-car-racing-competitions/
