Gicumbi FC and Heroes FC have lost their appeal case in which they sought to reverse the decision which saw them relegated to the Ferwafa Men’s Second Division.
When Ferwafa moved to suspend the Rwandan Premier League on March 15, due to the coronavirus restriction measures, Heroes were 15th with 16 points while Gicumbi were bottom with 15 points.
Ferwafa cancelled the league on May 23 after it had held consultative meetings with clubs and stakeholders and arrived at the decision of declaring the champions and as well as the teams relegated and promoted.
When Heroes and Gicumbi learnt of their fate, they launched an appeal to Ferwafa but the Appeals Body has moved to dismiss their case.
The two clubs claim the decision to relegate them went against what clubs had agreed on during the consultative meetings.
“The appeals have no legal ground. The Ferwafa Appeals Committee has upheld the decision to relegate Heroes and Gicumbi from Rwanda Premier League following the abrupt end of the season,” Ferwafa's Appeal Body stated as they delivered their judgement on the case launched by the two clubs.
“Based on Match Day 23 standings, Heroes FC and Gicumbi FC with 16 points and 15 points respectively are therefore relegated to the second division league for the 2020/2021 season," Ferwafa said at the time of league cancellation.
Heroes president Fidele Kanamugire had stated previously that the relegated clubs had the chance to redeem themselves if the league was restarted. There were seven matches remaining before the competition ended.
“The decision is against what we discussed during the consultative meeting with Ferwafa. The idea was to award the title to APR as runaway leaders, but relegate no team,” Kanamugire said as he argued against Ferwafa's move to end the 2019/20 season and consequently relegate his side.
Although the Premier League was cancelled, the women's competition would wait to see whether the government will allow its continuation.
“Due to the nature of women's competitions, the 2020 edition of the women’s first and second division leagues are hereby suspended and will resume when Government of Rwanda eases the lockdown on sporting activities,” Ferwafa's statement at the time read.
The 2020 Peace Cup tournaments for men and women were declared null and void while Ferwafa's youth competitions in all age categories for the 2020 edition were postponed.
APR were declared champions of the cancelled league.