July 25, 2024, the Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD) signed a cooperation agreement with the Centre for Global Sports (CGS), an organization that focuses on sports education, to train individuals in the sports world on Sports Law.

The CGS typically educates children and youth on sports, especially football, through football academies catering to children aged 5 to 16.

Akabuto Kayitesi, the Chief Operations Officer at CGS, mentioned that while they began with football, they plan to expand to other ball games such as volleyball and basketball. She stated that CGS decided to establish a program to educate people involved in sports on the legal aspects governing it after noticing various gaps within sports federations in Rwanda, particularly in areas like player transfers and refereeing, where several issues still exist.

“There are various issues we identified in teams and sports federations, and access to knowledge about these laws is not easy for those interested because there is no established system for this in Rwanda, even though we have made significant progress in sports,” she said.

Madam Kayitesi further explained that the agreement with ILPD aims to assist different individuals involved in sports, including coaches, sports federation officials, players, referees, and anyone interested in specializing in sports law, as they will be trained by ILPD experts proficient in various types of law.

“Since ILPD is knowledgeable about the law, they will lead these training sessions; we wouldn’t be able to do this without them,” she added. She mentioned that they would start by raising awareness about the importance of sports law before commencing the actual training.

Dr. Aimé Muyoboke KARIMUNDA, the Rector of ILPD, stated that once this program is properly implemented, it will resolve various issues previously seen in sports, such as officials being fined for not adhering to agreements, players being unjustly dismissed, and their inability to defend their rights due to a lack of legal knowledge. He emphasized that this initiative would provide lawyers working with teams an opportunity to deeply understand the laws related to their daily work.

He assured good collaboration with CGS, particularly because they have extensive experience in legal training.

The Centre for Global Sports began its operations in Rwanda in 2023 and focuses on advancing sports at various levels, including providing legal frameworks, both locally and internationally.

Currently, CGS operates three football academies for children in Gisovu, Karongi District, Nyamagabe, and Kigali City.

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