Visit Rwanda deal with Arsenal to end next season as heavy backlash came amid Rwanda’s support for M23 militia.
Arsenal’s controversial sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda to end next year.
Arsenal has confirmed that their contentious sponsorship agreement with Visit Rwanda will expire in June.
The agreement, which started in 2018 and is reputedly valued around £10 million annually, has come under criticism due to Rwanda’s backing of the M23 military in battles occurring in the eastern portion of the adjacent Democratic Republic of the Congo. Arsenal was accused in February of giving the Congolese government a “outrageous” snub by failing to meet with foreign minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner to discuss the agreement.
It is generally accepted that Arsenal signed and maintained the collaboration with Visit Rwanda, an arm of the Rwanda Development Board, a government agency, in order to expand their fan base in Africa. However, the agreement has now ended because both parties “mutually agreed” to part ways.
“Together, Arsenal and the Rwanda Development Board have exceeded the original goals of the partnership – promoting conservation and sustainable tourism, inspiring millions of supporters to discover the country, and creating a lasting foundation for tourism growth,” read an Arsenal statement. “The partnership has also supported Rwanda’s ambition to become an international sporting hub in Africa and host more global sporting events whilst delivering grassroots football initiatives that have helped hundreds of young players and coaches develop their skills and inspire greater participation in sport across the country.”
Arsenal’s CEO, Richard Garlick, called the collaboration a “significant journey” and asserted that it has been “driving forward” the team’s goals. However, some Arsenal supporters disagreed with the arrangement; in late April, the campaign group Gunners for Peace demonstrated outside the Emirates Stadium during the first leg of the team’s Champions League semi-final match against Paris Saint-Germain, holding a banner that read “Drop Visit Rwanda.”