Eight national teams, divided into two groups, competed in the tournament. Group A featured Egypt, South Africa, Tanzania, and South Sudan, while Group B included Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, and host nation Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rwanda\u2019s Nyamwasa failed to impress, losing all his matches. He was defeated 5-3 by Uganda\u2019s Aksamo, 3-2 by Kenya\u2019s Harry Kappa, and 5-2 in his final match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking after his exit, Nyamwasa, who was competing before a home crowd for the first time, attributed his poor performance to the lack of support and limited awareness of eSports in Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a sport that is still unfamiliar here. You saw that my opponents had coaches and sponsors, while I\u2019m still learning everything on my own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been playing professional eSports for four years, but many people here don\u2019t take it seriously. They call it a game for idlers or people without ambition. I believe that if government institutions and sponsors support us, we will proudly raise the national flag.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tournament\u2019s crown went to South Africa\u2019s Zaid April, who defeated Egypt\u2019s top-ranked Moaaz Ahmed 2-1 in the final. Ahmed, widely regarded as Africa\u2019s number one in football eSports, was stunned by the upset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
April, ranked among the continent\u2019s top 10 gamers, described the event as a breakthrough moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday I am very happy to beat someone ranked higher than me. What excited me even more was playing against rivals I had only faced online but never in person,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thank Rwanda for hosting this tournament for the first time. African players need more competitions like this to prepare us for global challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prize money was distributed as follows: $2,500 for champion Zaid April, $1,500 for runner-up Moaaz Ahmed, and $500 each for semi-finalists Harry Kappa (Kenya) and Aksamo (Uganda).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Author: Justinmind HARERIMANA<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the first time, Rwanda hosted the African eSports football tournament, which was won by South African gamer Zaid April, while Rwanda\u2019s representative, Nyamwasa Praise, was eliminated without earning a single point. The competition took place on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at Zaria Court as part of activities organized alongside the SportsBiz Africa Forum 2025, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-sport-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/africadiplomacy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/zaria_court_is_lit_players_locked_in_fans_on_their_feet_and_every_moment_telling_its_own_sto-d8fbc-819x1024.jpg\")
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