Inside the club's case to the FERWAHAND General Assembly — and the questions every newcomer must answer.

Kigali, 25 July 2026

When PEVIC Sports Club's application came before the FERWAHAND General Assembly, the club had a single opportunity to make its case. Membership in a national federation is not handed out; it is decided by the members already in the room. Representing PEVIC SC, Ephron Niyonteze stood to introduce the club and defend its bid to join — and, by the end of the session, the assembly had voted unanimously, 100 percent in favour, to welcome PEVIC SC into Rwanda's handball family.

This is how that case was made.

A newcomer has to earn trust

No assembly admits a club on enthusiasm alone. Its responsibility is to protect the standard and the spirit of the game, which means every applicant must answer the same fair questions: Is this club serious, or will it fade after a season? Will it compete with integrity and respect the rules? And will it add something to the sport, rather than simply take from it?

That was the burden PEVIC SC carried into the room. As a young club, it had no history to point to — only the case it could make for itself.

The case Ephron made

He built the defence on three foundations.

Identity. Ephron began not with ambition but with values, arguing that PEVIC SC is defined by three words the club holds itself to — discipline, community, and ambition — and that these are a standard, not a slogan. A club that knows what it stands for, he suggested, is a club that can be trusted to conduct itself well.

Seriousness. He addressed head-on the concern any assembly holds about a newcomer: that it might not last. PEVIC SC, he argued, is built to endure — organized, patient, and prepared for the long road rather than the quick moment. Handball is the club's first discipline and its foundation, with a long-term plan to grow further in the years ahead.

Contribution. Finally, he made the case that PEVIC SC intends to give as much as it gains — to develop players, to respect the game, and to add its shoulder to the growth of handball across the country.

One question, and an answer that captured the club

Then came the question that would define the presentation. A delegate asked Ephron Niyonteze something deceptively simple: what does PEVIC actually mean?

His answer drew the club's entire philosophy out of its own name. PEVIC, he explained, is built from five words:

• P — Performance
• E — Excellence
• V — Victory
• I — Integrity
• C — Courage

"As we perform, we do it in an excellent way, aiming for victory — practising integrity in our daily lives, and always with the courage to achieve more."

— Ephron Niyonteze, to the General Assembly

In a single answer, the club's name became its mission. Performance pursued with excellence, directed toward victory, grounded in integrity, and carried by courage — not five words chosen to sound impressive, but a standard the club sets for how it trains, competes, and conducts itself every day.

He closed with a promise rather than a boast: that PEVIC SC would accept every result with the same respect, invest in its players and community, and represent the federation with pride wherever it played.

The decision

When the club's case had been heard and its questions answered, the General Assembly moved to a vote — and the result left no doubt. PEVIC SC was admitted as a member of FERWAHAND unanimously, by 100 percent of the assembly. Not a single voice was raised against it.

With that decision, PEVIC SC crossed its first real threshold — no longer a club hoping to belong, but one that had argued for its place and earned it.

The work now moves to the court. But the club will not forget the room where its journey formally began, nor the trust the handball family extended to it that day.

The journey begins now.

Discipline, community, and ambition.

Follow PEVIC SC — www.pevicsportclub.com · @pevicsportclub on X, TikTok, and Instagram 

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