Burundi national football team

The Burundi football team was created in 1971 by the Football Federation of Burundi. The Swallows' first match was in a 1976 African Cup of Nations qualification match against Somalia, which ended in a 2–0 victory. Following a 1–0 loss in the second leg, Burundi qualified to meet Egypt in the next round where they lost 5–0 on aggregate and were eliminated. It would be seventeen years before Burundi played another AFCON qualifying match. In their first twenty years, Burundi played in twenty fixtures and managed 6 wins, 2 draws and 12 defeats.

In 1992, Burundi entered the qualification rounds for the FIFA World Cup for the first time, but were eliminated in the first round following one win (1-0 against Ghana), one draw (0-0 against Algeria) and two losses in the reverse fixtures to finish bottom of the group. Burundi then finished joint top in their 1994 African Cup of Nations qualification group however they lost their play-off match against Guinea on penalties. Due to the Burundian Civil War, Burundi withdrew from the 1996 and 1998 AFCON qualifiers and, despite beating Sierra Leone 2–0 on aggregate and qualifying for the final round of the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, they withdrew again.

Following successive withdrawals from the AFCON qualifiers, Burundi returned for the 2000 competition, beating Tanzania in the preliminary rounds before finishing third in their group behind Burkina Faso and Senegal. In the 2002 qualifiers, Burundi again advanced to the group stages of qualification by beating Djibouti (4-1), but finished last in their group with only two points. In 2004, Burundi performed even worse, collecting no points and finishing last behind South Africa and Ivory Coast. In 2008 Burundi finished five points behind leaders Egypt and didn't make it through to the next round. In 2012 Burundi were even further adrift, finishing thirteen points behind group winners Ivory Coast. For the 2013 qualifiers, Burundi failed to advance due to away goals against Zimbabwe (2-2), and in 2015 they lost to Botswana (1-0) .

Burundi did not participate in the 2002 qualification process but re-entered in 2006, only to get knocked out by Gabon in the first round (4-1). In 2010, Burundi managed two victories, both against Seychelles but failed to go through behind Burkina Faso and Tunisia. The 2006 and 2010 qualifiers doubled as qualification for the FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations. The following qualification cycle, Burundi were eliminated by Lesotho in the first round (3-2).

After falling in the second qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup against DR Congo, Burundi focused on convincing Gaël Bigirimana and Saido Berahino to come and play for the selection, both playing in Europe (for Hibernian and Stoke City respectively). Both players agreed and Berahino scored on his debut to earn the team a 1–1 draw against Gabon. In March 2019, in the final group game, Burundi played a decisive match against Gabon needing only one point to qualify. The match ended in a draw (1-1), with a goal from Cédric Amissi earning Burundi their first opportunity to play in the Africa Cup of Nations. Burundi lost all three of their matches at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, failing to register a single goal.

Traditionally, the Burundi team wears the three colours of its flag: red, green and white.

During these beginnings, Burundi is equipped by Erreà, an Italian sports brand. In 2012, he signed a contract with Adidas for a period of 10 years. Despite this long-term contract with Adidas, Burundi is committed in 2018 with Nike. She even signs a contract with Lumitel (a phone brand).

The Burundi team have played most of their matches in Bujumbura at the Prince Louis Rwagasore stadium. The second match in its history, Burundi is playing its first home match against Somalia (3-0 victory). The Prince Louis Rwagasore stadium is home to Vital'O FC and Prince Louis FC, as well as the national team. The stadium has been renovated several times, notably in March 2018, due to a flooded pitch.

During the matches at the Prince Louis Rwagasore stadium, the Burundian supporters are often outnumbered, in particular because of the rather low capacity of the stadium (10,000 seats) for around 13,000 spectators. Just like the players, the supporters dress in red, green and white and bring the flag of the country. During the match in March 2019 against Gabon, the authorities have made additional seats available because of the lack of space in the stands.

The following players were called up for the friendlies against Bahrain and Liberia in March 2022.[3]

Caps and goals are correct as of 29 March 2022, after the match against Liberia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Fabien Mutombora	(1997-04-07) 7 April 1997	4	0	Vipers
	1GK	Jonathan Nahimana	(1999-12-12) 12 December 1999	28	0	KMC
	1GK	Justin Ndikumana	(1993-03-01) 1 March 1993	4	0	Bandari
	2DF	Philip Oslev	(1994-11-27) 27 November 1994	6	0	AB
	2DF	Diamant Ramazani	(1999-02-18) 18 February 1999	6	0	Lokeren-Temse
	2DF	Aime Vallance Nihorimbere	(2000-01-11) 11 January 2000	0	0	Mikkelin Palloilijat
	2DF	Eric Ndizeye	(1999-08-22) 22 August 1999	13	0	Muzinga
	2DF	Marco Weymans	(1997-07-09) 9 July 1997	7	0	Östersunds
	2DF	Omar Moussa	(1997-08-30) 30 August 1997	19	0	Police
	3MF	Stève Nzigamasabo	(1990-12-10) 10 December 1990	19	1	Namungo
	3MF	Christophe Nduwarugira	(1994-06-22) 22 June 1994	37	7	Leixões
	3MF	Jospin Nshimirimana	(2001-12-12) 12 December 2001	6	8	Yeni Malatyaspor
	3MF	Trésor Mossi	(2001-08-28) 28 August 2001	0	0	K.V.C. Westerlo
	3MF	Ismail Nshimirimana	(2000-01-01) 1 January 2000	4	0	Rukinzo
	3MF	Youssouf Ndayishimiye	(1998-10-27) 27 October 1998	17	1	İstanbul Başakşehir
	3MF	Gaël Bigirimana	(1993-10-22) 22 October 1993	19	0	Glentoran
	4FW	Mohamed Amissi	(2000-08-03) 3 August 2000	15	0	Heracles Almelo
	4FW	Blaise Bigirimana	(1998-11-04) 4 November 1998	8	3	Namungo
	4FW	Cédric Amissi	(1990-03-20) 20 March 1990	52	10	Al-Taawoun
	4FW	Abedi Bigirimana	(2002-01-01) 1 January 2002	6	0	Rukinzo
	4FW	Jordi Liongola	(2000-05-17) 17 May 2000	2	0	Lierse Kempenzonen
	4FW	Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana	(1997-11-21) 21 November 1997	16	3	Kaisar
	4FW	Saido Berahino (Captain)	(1993-08-04) 4 August 1993	15	1	Sheffield Wednesday

The following players have been called up for Burundi in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Arakaza MacArthur	(1995-07-29) 29 July 1995	28	0	Lusaka Dynamos	v.  Myanmar; 13 November 2021
DF	David Nshimirimana	(1993-01-02) 2 January 1993	31	0	Sofapaka	v.  Comoros; 7 September 2021
DF	Issa Hakizimana	(1994-08-28) 28 August 1994	24	0	Flambeau du Centre	v.  Comoros; 7 September 2021
DF	Emery Nimubona	(1992-02-01) 1 February 1992	17	0	Police	v.  Comoros; 7 September 2021
DF	Asman Ndikumana	(1999-06-10) 10 June 1999	7	2	Aigle Noir	v.  Comoros; 7 September 2021
DF	Blanchard Ngabonziza	(2000-11-25) 25 November 2000	6	0	Aigle Noir	v.  Comoros; 7 September 2021
DF	Dieu Merci Musombwa	(1997-10-10) 10 October 1997	5	0	Aigle Noir Makamba	v.  Comoros; 7 September 2021
DF	Moussa Muryango	(1999-05-25) 25 May 1999	2	0	Lipuli	v.  Comoros; 7 September 2021
MF	Saidi Ntibazonkiza	(1987-05-01) 1 May 1987	26	13	Vital'O	v.  Myanmar; 13 November 2021
MF	Piclaire Irakoze	(2002-07-28) 28 July 2002	0	0	Yeni Malatyaspor	v.  Myanmar; 13 November 2021
MF	Muryango Mabano	(1999-12-15) 15 December 1999	1	0	Kayanza United	v.  Comoros; 7 September 2021
FW	Fiston Abdul Razak	(1993-09-05) 5 September 1993	49	19	Olympique de Khouribga	v.  Myanmar; 13 November 2021
FW	Bienvenue Kanakimana	(1999-12-28) 28 December 1999	5	0	MFK Vyškov	v.  Myanmar; 13 November 2021
DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player has retired from international football. SUS Suspended from the national team, red or yellow cards.