SC Kiyovu’s coach, Malik Wade, has promised fans that the team can stay in the Rwanda Premier League and avoid relegation.

With only half a dozen games left in the season, Kiyovu is in 13th place with 27 points, just two places above the relegation zone

Wade said the team’s level of confidence has improved as they continue to fight to stay in the top division.

“There are smiles on the faces of everybody in the team. The boys are trying. In every game, there is improvement. We believe that there is hope for us to escape relegation if we continue like this,” he noted.

During the second round, Kiyovu was boosted with new players including youngsters David Niyo, Thierry Shema, Rene Uwineza and Bertrand Dusengumuremyi who were promoted from its academy to the senior team.

In addition, Crespo Tabou Tegra, the son of Amavubi and APR legend Patrick Mafisango was promoted from the SV Kiyovu academy.

“We are very optimistic to escape relegation. We are hopeful that we will get something in next matches. We have resolved not to drop any points again both home and away. We can’t win only home matches. We must go away and get results to move out of the relegation zone,” he noted.

Earlier this season, the Mumena-based club went for months without paying its players and staff, which hurt their performance on the field. However, things started to improve after they received sponsorship from Kigali City and support from the diaspora community. The team started giving players bonuses for winning matches.