Sport in Rwanda

Claudette Mukasakindi representing Rwanda in the women's marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London
Medical personnel attending to an injured runner during the Kigali Peace Marathon

In Rwanda, sport is supported by the government's Sports Development Policy of October 2012. This argues that sport has a number of benefits, including bringing people together, improving national pride and unity, and improving health. The policy identifies challenges to the development of sport in the country, including limited infrastructure and financial capacity. It sets the "inspirational target" that, by 2020, Rwanda should have "a higher percentage of population playing sport than in any other African nation" and be ranked amongst the top three African countries in basketball, volleyball, cycling, athletics and Paralympic sports, and the top ten in football. It also aims to "foster increased participation of people in traditional sports".[1] According to research published by the University of the Western Cape's Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence for Sport Science and Development, the most popular sports in Rwanda are association football, volleyball, basketball, athletics and Paralympic sports.[2]

Aerial view of the Kigali Peace Marathon
  1. ^ "Rwanda Sports Development Policy". Republic of Rwanda Ministry of Sports and Culture. October 2012. p. 18. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  2. ^ Ndengeye, Joseph (2014). "Country Report: Rwanda". In Keim, Marion; de Coning, Christo (eds.). Sport and Development Policy in Africa: Results of a Collaborative Study of Selected Country Cases. Stellenbosch: SUN Press. pp. 125–128. ISBN 9781920689407.