Fils Olivier Karekezi (Kinyarwanda pronunciation: [olivje kaɾeˌcezi] ; born 25 May 1983) is a Rwandan former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is also a former captain of the Rwanda national team.

Olivier Karekezi
Karekezi playing for Östers IF in 2011
Personal information
Full name Fils Olivier Karekezi
Date of birth (1983-05-25) 25 May 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Kigali, Rwanda
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1989–2001 APR
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 APR
2005–2007 Helsingborgs IF 60 (18)
2008–2009 Hamarkameratene 32 (6)
2010–2011 Östers IF 49 (6)
2011–2012 APR (14)
2012–2013 CA Bizertin 7 (1)
2014 Trelleborgs FF 15 (4)
2015–2017 Råå IF 42 (15)
2018–2019 Råå IF 28 (12)
International career
2000–2013 Rwanda 68 (21)
Managerial career
2017–2018 Rayon Sports
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Karekezi signed for Helsingborgs IF in 2005, leaving his native club APR FC, and scored five goals in 18 matches during the 2005 season. In 2006, he scored 11 goals for Helsingborg and thereby became their top scorer in Allsvenskan. In January 2008 he transferred to Hamarkameratene. In March 2010 he joined the Swedish second division club, Östers IF on a two-year deal.[1]

Karekezi took a pay cut to play for his former club APR. Having previously got US$52,000 (Rwf30.9m) a year at Swedish second division side Östers IF, he agreed a two-year deal with APR in the region of US$24, 000 (Rwf14m) a year.[2]

Towards the end of September 2012, he joined Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 club CA Bizertin in a two-year deal.[3] In July 2013, he announced that he would retire from football when his contract with Bizertin expired in March 2015.[4] However, he joined Swedish third-tier outfit Trelleborgs FF on 22 January 2014.[5]

Karekezi spent two-and-a-half seasons with Swedish side Råå IF in Division 3 Södra Götaland.[6] He returned to the club in March 2018, eight months after he had left Råå IF.[6]

International career

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Karekezi made his international debut for Rwanda in 2000, and represented his country at the 2004 African Cup of Nations.

After 13 years with the national team, he announced his retirement from international football in late August 2013.[7]

Career statistics

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Scores and results list Rwanda's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Karekezi goal.
List of international goals scored by Olivier Karekezi[8]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 December 2001 Stade Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda   Somalia 3–0 3–0 2001 CECAFA Cup
2 13 October 2002 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana   Ghana 1–0 2–4 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification
3 3 December 2002 Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium, Arusha, Tanzania   Somalia 1–0 1–0 2002 CECAFA Cup
4 12 October 2003 Stade Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda   Namibia 2–0 3–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 2 December 2003 Khartoum Stadium, Khartoum, Sudan   Zanzibar 1–0 2–2 2003 CECAFA Cup
6 2–1
7 14 August 2004 Kampala, Uganda   Uganda ?–? 2–1 Friendly
8 11 December 2004 Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia   Zanzibar 2–1 4–2 2004 CECAFA Cup
9 19 December 2004 Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia   Tanzania ?–? 5–1 2004 CECAFA Cup
10 8 December 2005 Stade Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda   Uganda 1–0 1–0 2005 CECAFA Cup
11 8 October 2006 Antoinette Tubman Stadium, Monrovia, Liberia   Liberia 1–2 2–3 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
12 25 March 2007 Estadio Internacional, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea   Equatorial Guinea 1–1 1–3 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
13 8 September 2007 Stade Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda   Liberia 4–0 4–0 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
14 13 December 2007 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania   Djibouti 1–0 9–0 2007 CECAFA Cup
15 9–0
16 31 May 2008 Stade Régional Nyamirambo, Kigali, Rwanda   Mauritania 1–0 3–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
17 8 June 2008 Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia   Ethiopia 2–1 2–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
18 14 June 2008 Stade Régional Nyamirambo, Kigali, Rwanda   Morocco 3–1 3–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
19 15 November 2011 Stade Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda   Eritrea 1–0 3–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
20 26 November 2011 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania   Tanzania 1–0 1–0 2011 CECAFA Cup
21 2 December 2011 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania   Djibouti 3–2 5–2 2011 CECAFA Cup
22 4–2
23 5–2
24 8 December 2011 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania   Sudan 2–1 2–1 2011 CECAFA Cup

References

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  1. ^ "Karekezi klar för Öster". herr.osterfotboll.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010.
  2. ^ Ostine Arinaitwe (19 August 2011). "Karekezi Takes Huge Pay Cut to Play for APR". The New Times. Rwanda. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  3. ^ Bonnie Mugabe (22 September 2012). "Karekezi signs for Tunisia's Bizerte FC". The New Times. Rwanda. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  4. ^ Bonnie Mugabe (21 July 2013). "Karekezi set to retire". The New Times. Rwanda. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Olivier Karekezi klar för TFF!" [Olivier Karekezi is ready for TFF!] (in Swedish). Trelleborgs FF. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Olivier Karekezi tillbaka i Råå IF" [Olivier Karekezi back at Råå IF]. Skånesport (in Swedish). 26 March 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  7. ^ Bonnie Mugabe (27 August 2013). "Karekezi retires". The New Times. Rwanda. Retrieved 5 September 2013.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Földesi, László. "Olivier Karekezi – Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
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