Olivier Karekezi Rwandan footballer, striker Date of Birth: 25.05.1983 Country: Rwanda

1. Early Life and Career
2. Success in Rwanda and Sweden
3. Norwegian Struggles
4. Return to Sweden and National Team

Early Life and Career

Olivier Karekezi is a Rwandan footballer who plays as a striker for Rwandan club Rayon Sports. He has also represented the Rwanda national team. Karekezi began his career in 1999 with Kigali-based club APR.

Success in Rwanda and Sweden

In 2004, Karekezi shared the Rwandan Premier League top scorer award with Abed Mulenda, having scored 14 goals. He spent five years with APR before moving to Swedish club Helsingborgs IF in 2005.

With Helsingborgs, Karekezi finished fourth in the 2006 Allsvenskan, scoring 11 goals and becoming the team's top scorer. He made an impact in the first qualifying round of the 2007/08 UEFA Cup, scoring once in each leg against Estonian side Narva Trans (9-0 aggregate). Karekezi also featured in the group stage, making a substitute appearance in Helsingborgs' 3-0 win over Austria Wien. In 2006, he helped the team win the Swedish Cup, defeating Gefle IF 2-0 in the final.

Norwegian Struggles

In 2008, Karekezi transferred to Norwegian club HamKam. However, the team struggled, finishing 14th in the Tippeligaen and suffering relegation to the Adeccoligaen. The following season, HamKam finished 13th out of 16 clubs in the second-tier division and were relegated again, this time to the Norwegian Second Division.

Return to Sweden and National Team

In March 2010, Karekezi signed a two-year contract with Swedish club Östers, which played in the Superettan. He has captained the Rwanda national team since 2000 and has played at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia.