2020–21 Rwanda Premier League

The 2020–21 Rwanda Premier League is the 44th season of the Rwanda Premier League, the top-tier football league in Rwanda. The season started on 4 December 2020 with all games taking place behind closed doors before being suspended on 12 December due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1]

Rwanda Premier League

Season	2020–21
Champions	APR
Relegated	Sunrise AS Muhanga
Champions League	APR
Confederation Cup	AS Kigali
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

While the season originally started with a full round robin format, due to the pandemic the league switched to four groups of four teams, with the top two teams in each group qualifying to the champions round. APR won the title on goal difference over AS Kigali as both teams finished with 19 points out of a possible 21, with both teams drawing each other 1–1 on the second match day. Title celebrations were muted because of the pandemic.^[2]

Five teams were at risk of the last relegation spot on the final day of the season. Muhanga lost every single game in the relegation group and were relegated with matches to spare. Sunrise lost 2–1 to Gorilla FC on the final match day to be the final team relegated.^[3]

Teams

A total of 16 teams competed in the 2020–21 season with the top team qualifying for the CAF Champions League, the runner-ups qualifying for the CAF Confederation Cup and the bottom two relegated to the Rwandan Second Division.

• AS Kigali
• A.P.R.
• Bugesera
• Espoir
• Etincelles
• Gasogi United
• Gorilla
• Kiyovu Sports
• Marines
• Muhanga
• Mukura Victory
• Musanze
• Police
• Rayon Sports
• Rutsio
• Sunrise

League Changes

Rutsiro and Gorilla FC were promoted to the league after making the second division play-off final.^[4]

League table

Championship Round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	APR (C)	7	6	1	0	21	1	+20	19	Champions, Qualification to the 2021–22 CAF Champions League
2	AS Kigali	7	6	1	0	14	2	+12	19	Qualification to the 2021–22 CAF Confederation Cup
3	Espoir	7	3	1	3	9	11	−2	10
4	Police	7	2	2	3	7	11	−4	8
5	Marines	7	2	1	4	5	12	−7	7
6	Rutsiro	7	1	3	3	5	12	−7	6
7	Rayon Sports	7	1	2	4	7	12	−5	5
8	Bugesera	7	1	1	5	5	12	−7	4

Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Relegation Round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Kiyovu Sports	7	4	1	2	8	3	+5	13
2	Gasogi United	7	3	3	1	13	7	+6	12
3	Etincelles	7	4	0	3	13	8	+5	12
4	Musanze	7	4	0	3	11	14	−3	12
5	Mukura	7	3	2	2	8	7	+1	11
6	Gorilla	7	3	1	3	10	9	+1	10
7	Sunrise (R)	7	2	3	2	13	8	+5	9	Relegated
8	AS Muhanga (R)	7	0	0	7	3	23	−20	0

Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

References

1. [1], RSSSF.com
2. "APR FC crowned champions of 2020/21 Rwanda National Football League". 27 June 2021.
3. Muhire, Léon-Pierre (29 June 2021). "AS Muhanga, Sunrise FC relegated". New Times.
4. Nsabiyama, Eddie. "Football is back: How will the 2020-21 Rwanda Premier League look like?". New Times.