Eugène Murangwa (born 9 November 1975) is a former Rwandan international football player. His playing position was a goalkeeper. In 1994, Eric Murangwa Eugene and his immediate family survived the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Their survival is owed, in part, to the courage and humanity shown by his former teammates of the Rayon Sports Football Club, of which Murangwa was also a member. As a result of this, Murangwa has developed a strong belief that sport, and in particular football as well as storytelling, have the power to influence society in a way that little else does. Murangwa has a mission to make sport and storytelling an integral part of the Rwandan reconciliation and reconstruction process insisting sport is not just for fun and leisure but can also be used as a tool for social change and life skills. In 1997, following an international match for Rwanda in Tunisia, he sought asylum and emigrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

via

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

following the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

. During the Genocide he lost 35 members of his family. In 1998 Eric was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for his services to the Awareness and Education of Genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda. In 2010, he founded ''Football for Hope, Peace & Unity''.

International career

He was involved in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

campaign and played in a game versus

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

References

1975 births Rwandan men's footballers Rwanda men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers People from Rwamagana District Living people {{Rwanda-footy-bio-stub