Gen Muganga visited the APR FC squad on Saturday night, September 5, 2026, as the team prepared to travel to the DRC for the first leg of the CAF Champions League first-round qualifier.

Addressing the players, Gen Muganga described the match as one that would require maximum effort, urging them to represent the club and its supporters with pride.

“Fight hard and achieve the mission across the border. You have a game tomorrow, and for us, it is like the final. Victory must be secured there in Lubumbashi. After that, we will meet you at the airport and warmly welcome you for bringing pride to the team and our supporters,” he said.

He also stressed the importance of taking control of the tie in the first leg so that APR FC can approach the return match from a strong position.

“Hopefully, you will perform well in the first leg because that is the key to everything. We should play the second leg having already done our job,” Gen Muganga added.

APR FC departed for Lubumbashi early Sunday, September 6, aboard a chartered aircraft. The match is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Frédéric Kibassa Maliba Stadium.

The Rwandan champions will not spend the night at a hotel in the DRC. Instead, they are expected to travel directly to the stadium before returning to Kigali immediately after the match.

The players travelled to Kinshasa after CAF rejected the club’s request to move the first leg from the DRC over security concerns and the Ebola outbreak.

The match will be played behind closed doors, with no spectators allowed inside the stadium due to Ebola concerns.

Players will not be allowed to exchange jerseys after the match, according to the arrangements put in place for the fixture.