Rwanda Shine at Women's U19 World Cup

When we built the Gahanga Cricket Stadium, we dreamed of Rwanda playing in a World Cup.

In 2022, ahead of all realistically conceivable timescales, the Rwanda U19 Women’s team qualified to do just that, capping off a remarkable campaign by beating neighbours Tanzania in the final of the Africa regional tournament.

You’d be forgiven for expecting that they would just be making up the numbers in South Africa this past month but, as this ICC article writes, Rwanda emerged as one of the biggest stories of the tournament, producing two statement wins against full ICC-members and test-playing nations, Zimbabwe and the West Indies.

It’s a quite remarkable achievement for a country that’s only been playing cricket for two decades, and it just shows what can be achieved when passion and talent are combined with the necessary resources. Cricket Builds Hope are immensely proud to have been part of this journey so far and want to continue to support the women’s game and use it to help more women in Rwanda.

As Belise Murekatete, opening bowler for the U19 women says,

“This stadium is a special place for us. When we’re here, we’re always happy. We forget about our problems. But most importantly, coming here has helped me realise my talent as a cricket player. I’ve been working a lot with the coaches, and I keep improving.”