How Chelsea FC Once Wanted A Rwandan Player

It was widely expected that players who competed in the FIFA U-17 World Cup would be the future of Rwandan football. The hope was that some of them would move to Europe or other major leagues. 

However, many of them have since struggled in lower divisions in Rwanda, while others have disappeared from the football scene altogether.

In an interview with Aime Niyibizi Empire's YouTube channel, Emery Bayisenge, who was the captain of Rwanda’s squad at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Mexico, confirmed that they had several opportunities, but they never materialized, and they were left unsure about what went wrong.

Bayisenge disclosed that before they traveled to the World Cup, Chelsea FC, one of England's biggest clubs, was interested in signing Charles Tibingana. However, they never got to know why the move never happened.

“There's something people don’t know, Chelsea FC wanted Charles Tibingana,” Bayisenge revealed.

“Before we left for the World Cup, Chelsea had already expressed interest in him, and I know this for a fact. Even he himself confirmed it. 

But I don't know what happened next because I didn’t follow up closely. However, he had a promise that once the World Cup was over, he would move to Chelsea.”

Charles Tibingana was among the players who represented Rwanda in the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Mexico in 2011. However, due to a lack of proper career development and follow-up after the tournament, many of those players have faded into obscurity.

Bayisenge also mentioned that there were other Rwandan players who had attracted interest from top European clubs, but their transfers never materialized. 

Among them were Nsabimana Eric Zidane, now the captain of Police FC, Ndatimana Albert, Nzarora Marcel, and others.

Chelsea FC, one of England's biggest clubs, was interested in signing Charles Tibingana