Etincelles

Haruna Niyonzima learned the game on the pitch at Gisenyi before he ever pulled on the captain's armband for the national team, before moves to Rayon Sports and APR FC turned him into a full international.

The cup case holds one piece of silverware: the Rwandan Cup, taken in 1988 with a 1–0 win over Kiyovu Sports in the final, three years after the same opponent had beaten them 2–0 in that match. The league title has never come to Gisenyi.

European nights have been rarer still. In 2011 Etincelles reached the preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup and went out to AC Léopards of Congo. Closer to home, survival has been the harder fight: the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons both turned into relegation battles.

What has stayed constant is the derby. Marines FC share Stade Umuganda with them, and the Rubavu Derby is played out on the same turf both clubs call home — no travelling required, no neutral ground, just the two ends of the same town filling the same stadium.