KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — The players struck their crutches against each other as they chased a soccer ball, as well as a larger dream of competing at the global level. Children shrieked in joy as they watched a goalie dive to block an attempt with her remaining hand.
Amputee football, a seven-a-side version of the game in which players roam the field on crutches and goalkeepers have one arm, has grown steadily in Rwanda over the past decade. Players say they have found a community on the field after embracing a sport some never imagined they could play. For many, it offers not only physical rehabilitation but also a sense of belonging.
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A soccer player on the Rwanda Amputee team takes part in a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team pose for a selfie after a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team take part in a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team take part in a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team play in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
In the capital Kigali, amputees play to foster healing and social cohesion after traumas that include the country's darkest period: the 1994 genocide, in which about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by the majority Hutu population over a 100-day period.
Nyiraneza Solange was born two years after the genocide and lost her leg at the age of 5 after falling and developing an infection. She said the resilience shown by people who lost limbs during the genocide attracted her to amputee football.
She was encouraged by the former coach of the country's first amputee football team, who told her she could use her crutches to play. She quickly left any fear behind.
“I don’t even think about I don’t have a leg,” said Solange, explaining that she feels free while playing and has overcome the stigma that accompanies being an amputee.
Rwanda is estimated to have more than 3,000 lower-limb amputees. Some are victims of the genocide. Others are survivors of road accidents or illness.
Louise Kwizera, the vice president of the Rwanda Amputee Football Federation, said the sport enables players to learn to trust again, building unity in a society that “was once divided.”
“In communities affected by conflict or trauma, the playing field becomes a place of peace. People who may have different pasts come together as teammates,” Kwizera told The Associated Press.
Rwanda hopes to take part next year in the second women’s amputee football World Cup, an invitational event expected to be held in Poland or Brazil. Rwanda was represented by only a single player at the first edition of the competition in 2024.
The sport, governed by the World Amputee Football Federation, is played in more than 50 countries. Rwanda now has five women’s professional teams and 10 for men.
Haitian women’s amputee football team manager Fred Sorrels, who visited Rwanda to help develop the local program, said he was rooting for the East African country to host a World Cup. But the country's sports ministry said it has yet to make a formal bid.
Sorrels said he has seen the benefits of the sport.
“It’s a win psychologically and mentally for these ladies to have an opportunity to experience wholeness and wellness again,” he said.
Gilbert Muvunyi Manier, the Rwandan sports ministry's director general of sports development, called the sport a “powerful tool” for healing, reconciliation and social cohesion.
Players acknowledged limitations in strategy.
“It’s hard to save the ball when it goes to the side with the receding hand,” goalkeeper Nikuze Angelique said. Like Solange, she described a sense of community found on the field.
As players took selfies after a game, Angelique said she is hopeful they will reach the World Cup.
“It will be a dream come true,” she said.
For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
A soccer player on the Rwanda Amputee team takes part in a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team pose for a selfie after a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team take part in a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team take part in a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team play in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
ZUG, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2026--
AMINA Bank AG ("AMINA"), a Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA)-regulated crypto bank with global reach, today becomes the first bank to support Canton Coin (CC), the native token of Canton Network, offering custody and trading services to its clients. Canton Network is a public, privacy-preserving blockchain built for capital markets.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260505860056/en/
Canton has gained significant institutional momentum in recent months, attracting TradFi and DeFi organizations, including the DTCC, Visa, and BitGo, that are building next-generation settlement, tokenisation, custody, and collateral workflows on the network. Canton is also developing an on-chain capital markets ecosystem that encompasses repo, lending, and wrapped asset flows — all under compliance and settlement constraints designed for regulated participants.
AMINA will help reduce friction for professional investors, Super Validators, and institutions running tokenisation and settlement workflows on Canton. Through a single FINMA-regulated institution, AMINA clients can custody and trade Canton Coin with the governance they expect from an institutional banking partner.
Myles Harrison, Chief Product Officer at AMINA, said: “Canton Network represents something we are seeing more broadly in digital assets: infrastructure that has been purpose-built for regulated institutions, not retrofitted. By making Canton Coin available for custody and trading, AMINA is providing clients, whether they are Super Validators or investors seeking exposure to Canton Network's growth, with the regulated access they need to engage with this ecosystem. Making Canton Coin available is a deliberate step to ensure our clients have regulated access to the infrastructure underpinning institutional finance’s next chapter.”
Viv Diwakar, Head of the Canton Foundation, said: “Canton Network was designed to meet the needs of regulated financial institutions — privacy, compliance, and settlement finality built into the architecture. AMINA shares that philosophy. For Canton Network participants who need a compliant, supervised home for their Canton Coin holdings, AMINA provides that with the credibility and regulatory standing that the ecosystem demands.”
AMINA has established a proven track record of being first to bring strategically significant cryptocurrencies to its professional investor and institutional client base. The bank was the first globally to support Ripple USD (RLUSD) and the first to offer SUI trading and custody, both of which have since seen growing institutional uptake. As Canton Network's ecosystem continues to develop, AMINA intends to deepen its participation in the network during the period ahead.
Disclaimer: This is a marketing communication made to you by AMINA Bank AG (“AMINA”), a Swiss bank and securities dealer with office and legal domicile at Kolinplatz 15, 6300 Zug, Switzerland, authorized and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”). AMINA is not licensed as a bank in any other jurisdiction. This marketing communication is prepared solely for information and marketing purposes and is intended to be marketing material within the meaning of Article 68 of the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA); it is an advertisement; it is not a solicitation, recommendation, advice or an offer or intention to make an offer to buy or sell any financial instrument or to participate in any particular investment strategy. This marketing communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to the public in any jurisdiction where AMINA is not authorised to acquire, dispose of or engage in any product. Certain products and services may not be available to all clients based on legal and regulatory considerations.
About AMINA — Crypto. Banking. Simplified.
Founded in April 2018 and established in Zug (Switzerland), AMINA Bank AG is a pioneer in the crypto banking industry. In August 2019, AMINA Bank AG received the Swiss Banking and Securities Dealer License from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”). In February 2022, AMINA Bank AG, Abu Dhabi Global Markets (“ADGM”) Branch received Financial Services Permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (“FSRA”) of ADGM. In November 2023, AMINA (Hong Kong) Limited received its Type 1 (Dealing in Securities), Type 4 (Advising on Securities) and Type 9 (Asset Management) licenses from the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”). In October 2025, the firm’s Type 1 license was further approved for uplift to include digital asset dealing services for Professional Investors under Hong Kong’s digital asset regulatory framework. In October 2025, AMINA (Austria) AG (“AMINA EU”) received its CASP license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority (“FMA”) under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCAR) framework.
CVVC Global Report and CB Insights named AMINA as one of the Top 50 Companies within the blockchain ecosystem. In 2023, AMINA won the European WealthBriefing Award in the Digital Assets Solution, Fund Manager category. AMINA was most recently recognised as Institutional Digital Asset Innovation of the Year at the Hedgeweek® Global Digital Assets Awards 2025.
To learn more about AMINA, visit www.aminagroup.com
About Canton Network
Canton is the only public, permissionless blockchain purpose-built for institutional finance–uniquely combining privacy, compliance, and scalability. With participation from leading global financial institutions and network governance independently facilitated by the Canton Foundation, Canton enables real-time, secure synchronization and settlement across multiple asset classes on a shared, interoperable infrastructure. The open-sourced network is powered by its native token, Canton Coin, and supports decentralized governance and collaborative application development. It’s the proven link between the promise of blockchain and the power of global finance, making finance flow the way it should. Learn more at: canton.network
AMINA Becomes First Bank to Support Canton Coin Trading and Custody
