History
Rwanda qualified for its first ever Africa Cup of Nations in the 2004 edition. At the tournament, they lost their opening match 2–1 to Tunisia before winning their first ever point in the competition after a 1–1 draw against Guinea. Rwanda went on to beat DR Congo in their final group match by a 1–0 scoreline, but it wasn't enough, as elsewhere in the group, Guinea and Tunisia drew, meaning both teams progressed to the quarter-finals, and Rwanda were eliminated.
On 3 November 2007, Josip Kuže was appointed as head coach of Rwanda on a three-year deal, but left just two months later to manage Japanese club JEF United Chiba, having managed just six matches. Raoul Shungu was appointed as interim manager on 11 April 2008, with Branko Tucak appointed on a permanent basis just over two months later. After Rwanda finished bottom of their group in the third round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Tucak was sacked in November 2009, with Eric Nshimiyimana appointed as his replacement on an interim basis. In February 2010, Ghanaian Sellas Tetteh was appointed as the new national team manager. Under Tetteh, Rwanda qualified for the 2011 African Nations Championship, but finished bottom of their group after losing all three group stage matches. Tetteh resigned in September 2011.
Milutin Sredojević was appointed as Rwanda manager in November 2011, though he was sacked in April 2013. Nshimiyimana was reappointed to succeed Sredojević, though he was replaced by Stephen Constantine in May 2014. Under Constantine, Rwanda appeared to qualify for the group stage of qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, but were disqualified after fielding an ineligible player in a match against Congo. Constantine resigned from his role in January 2015 however, in order to manage the India national team.
Rwanda Football Federation technical director Lee Johnson became interim manager before Johnathan McKinstry was appointed as Constantine's replacement in March 2015, with Johnson leaving his role as technical director to become Constantine's assistant manager in India shortly after. In his first competitive game in charge, McKinstry guided Rwanda to their first away win in four years with a 1–0 victory over Mozambique in the opening round of 2017 African Nations Cup qualifying. In December 2015, Rwanda finished as runners-up in the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup 2015, having lost 1–0 to Uganda in the final. In January 2016, Rwanda reached the knock-out stages of a major competition for the first time in their history after topping their group at the 2016 African Nations Championship. Rwanda did however lose to eventual champions, DR Congo, 2–1 after extra time in the quarter-final. In March 2016 McKinstry agreed a new two-year contract, though he was sacked just five months later, with Jimmy Mulisa appointed on an interim basis. The Rwanda Football Federation were later ordered by FIFA to compensate McKinstry $200,000 for unlawful dismissal, and though the Rwandan FA initially appealed this ruling, they later complied.
In November 2023, Torsten Spittler was appointed as head coach, though he was relieved of his duties in January 2025. Adel Amrouche was appointed in his place in March 2025.
Team image
Kit
In 2001, after adopting the new flag of Rwanda, The Federation (FERWAFA) changed the color of the team kit. The new team kit consists of a yellow jersey, blue shorts and green socks for home matches, while their away kit is either all white or all blue. Adidas has generally been the manufacturer for the Rwandan team since 2001. However, between 2004 and 2009, Rwanda used L-sport as their outfitter, and in 2015 the side started wearing kit provided by AMS, an emerging Australian supplier.
Names
Under the official FIFA Trigramme the team's name is abbreviated as RWA; this acronym is used by FIFA, the CAF and the CECAFA to identify the team in official competitions. However the team was more commonly known as the RR, the acronym for the country's official name, Repubulika y'u Rwanda or République du Rwanda, which the local press used when they referred to the team as the RR XI. The national team is often referred to as Amavubi (The Wasps).
9 (7 October 2026)
Burundi 6–2 Rwanda 
Rwanda 9–0 Djibouti 
Cameroon 5–0 Rwanda 
Zaire 6–1 Rwanda 
Tunisia 5–0 Rwanda 
Uganda 5–0 Rwanda 
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