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Background: There is growing participation in soccer at all levels of sport. Soccer increases the physical and psychological demands on players, which subsequently increase the risk of injuries. There are limited prospective epidemiological studies in Africa, and studies that have been conducted to date often fail to incorporate standardised injury definitions or reporting methods. Therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct epidemiological studies within the context of low to middle-income countries, where resources may be limited, and taking into consideration exposure times to design appropriate preventive measures. Aim: The purpose of the study was to explore the nature and incidence of soccer-related injuries in first division players in Rwanda, and to establish intrinsic risk factors for injuries. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted for two seasons. Eleven teams (326 players) and 13 teams (391 players) were followed for the seasons 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. Anthropometric and musculoskeletal screening composed of flexibility tests, strength and endurance, balance and proprioception tests, and lower limb function tests were conducted as well as training and match exposure were recorded. Team medical personnel recorded the location, type, duration and mechanism of time-loss injuries following the suggestion of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA). The primary outcome was the incidence of overall, training and match injury as well as body part, type, patterns and severity of injuries. Multivariate model using the Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) was used to assess intrinsic predictors of injury. Significance was accepted as p