Rwanda President Paul Kagame has hit back at the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over calls for European giants Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Paris St-Germain to end their “blood-stained” sponsorship deals with Visit Rwanda.
This comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the country.
DR Congo’s Foreign Minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, wrote to the owners of Arsenal, PSG, and Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer to “question the morality” of their sponsorship deals with Visit Rwanda.
In her letter, Kayikwamba Wagner emphasized the possibility that Visit Rwanda’s sponsorship could be funded by the illicit mining of blood minerals in the occupied regions of DR Congo, which are then transported across the border and exported from Rwanda.
Additionally, she stated that their sponsorship is contributing to the suffering of thousands trapped in the city of Goma, with restricted access to food, water, and security.
Kagame Responds to DRC Call for Arsenal, PSG & Bayern to Cut Deals
She highlighted that countless lives have been lost, and incidents of rape, murder, and theft are rampant.
At the same time, Wagner pointed out that Rwanda’s “culpability” in the ongoing conflict has become undeniable, referencing a UN report stating that 4,000 Rwandan troops are actively involved in the DRC.
“It is time Arsenal ended its blood-stained sponsorship deals with this oppressor nation. If not for your own consciences, then the clubs should do it for the victims of Rwandan aggression,” she wrote.
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Kagame, in an interview with CNN’s Larry Madowo, dismissed the appeals to European football teams as “wasted efforts.”
He stated that the efforts should be directed to issues that are currently affecting the country.
“The efforts they are using to go and appeal to Arsenal whichever group we are working with and son and so forth is a wasted effort,” Kagame said.
“I think they should direct the effort towards managing their own problems own politics properly.”
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About Visit Rwanda Deals
Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have all signed longterm multi-million-euro agreements with Rwanda to promote it as a tourist destination.
Arsenal first partnered with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in 2018, making Visit Rwanda the Gunners’ inaugural sleeve sponsor.
The two parties signed a four-year extension in 2021, with the latest sponsorship reported to be worth more than £10m ($12.39 million) per year.
The club has maintained that the agreement is about promoting potential tourism, as opposed to supporting the country’s leadership, or any of their politics.
Bayern Munich also entered a five-year agreement with the RDB in August 2023. However, the deal faced criticism from human rights groups accusing the club of sportswashing.
Visit Rwanda, a division of the RDB, currently holds a sponsorship deal with French champions PSG, which is set to run until the end of the 2024/25 season.
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