On 21 December 2025, a new chapter quietly opened in Rwanda’s football story as 32 Amavubi Girls U17 players assembled for their first residential training camp, marking the beginning of preparations for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, whose opening matches are scheduled for April 2026.

This inaugural camp, designed as a seven-day foundation phase, runs until 27 December 2025, laying the physical, tactical and mental groundwork for a journey that stretches far beyond the pitch.

The road to this moment began earlier, with a nationwide preselection exercise conducted from 21 November to 15 December 2025. From an initial pool of 48 promising young players, 32 were shortlisted to take part in the current camp. At the end of this phase, the technical team will further refine the group, retaining 26 finalists who will advance to the next stages of preparation.

Those next steps are carefully structured through a series of intensive weekend training programs, scheduled as follows:

• 09–11 January 2026

• 23–25 January 2026

• 30 January–01 February 2026

• 13–15 February 2026

• 27 February–01 March 2026

• 13–15 March 2026

• 27–29 March 2026

These successive camps are designed to steadily sharpen cohesion, competitiveness and match readiness as the qualifiers draw closer.

The first qualifying match is expected to take place within the FIFA window of 14–19 April 2026, although Amavubi U17 are yet to learn their opening opponent, adding an element of anticipation to an already charged campaign.

Guiding this young group is Head Coach Iragena Oscarie, a CAF B–licensed coach who also serves as one of the coaches at the Bayern Munich Academy Rwanda. Her leadership blends international exposure with a deep understanding of youth development, offering the players both discipline and inspiration as they navigate the demands of elite competition.

These preparations are firmly aligned with the FERWAFA President’s broader football development vision, a strategy that goes beyond strengthening national youth competitions to ensuring that Rwanda’s emerging talents are exposed to stronger, more competitive environments from an early age.

For these young girls, the journey has just begun. But with every training session, every weekend camp and every shared dream, Amavubi U17 are not merely preparing for qualifiers, they are learning to believe that the world stage is within reach.