Rwamagana and Ngororero District men and women’s teams clinched the national Goalball championship that concluded over the weekend at Bugesera Stadium.
Rwamagana men’s team finished the season unbeaten after defeating Gisagara 11-10 on Sunday, April 30 to win the title after amassing 36 points out of a possible 36, six points ahead of Gisagara who finished second with 30 points in 12 games while Ngororero and Karongi finished third and fourth respectively with 28 points apiece.
Ange Uwihirwe, who plays for Rwamagana, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2022/2023 Goalball season after playing a crucial role in helping his team win the championship.
In the women’s category, Ngororero clinched the title on goal difference after finishing the season tied on 15 points with second placed Musanze.
Rwamagana and Rubavu emerged third and fourth respectively with 13 points collected from seven games.
Emmanuel Ndayisaba, the Executive Secretary of the National Council of People with Disabilities (NCPD) congratulated the champions and called athletes with disabilities to venture into sports towards a better future.
“Today we are happy to see everyone with disability have time and opportunities to do sports not just to keep themselves fit and healthy but to also play it professionally,” he said.
Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded inside of it into the opponents’ goal.
The ball is thrown by hand and never kicked. Using ear-hand coordination, originating as a rehabilitation exercise, the sport has no able-bodied equivalent. Able-bodied athletes are also blindfolded when playing this sport.