MUNICHEN (AP) – Bayern Munich cut its “visiting Rwanda” branding on Friday, as African countries move “away from commercial sponsorship” in the face of backlash against support for neighboring Congo’s rebels.
Bayern Dismissed the claim “Sports washer” was when he signed a five-year Rwandan contract in 2023. It included advertisements at the stadium and what Bayern called events “to promote tourism and investment opportunities in Rwanda.”
At the time it replaced a Controversial Sponsorship agreement with Qatar. Rwanda has similar sponsorships to European football giants like Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.
Some Bayern fans once protested the deal by displaying large banners in the game in February. Accusations From the United Nations, where Rwanda supported rebels in nearby Congo.
Now, the German football champion has reached a new contract with Rwanda and says he has turned his existing sponsorship deal into a three-year agreement focused on developing young footballers at the academy in the country’s Bayern.
“In constructive discussions on our future direction, we agreed that a very special part of our relationship with (the Rwanda Development Committee) is the developmental nature of our work in Kigali through the FC Bavarian Academy.”
“We are therefore transforming our commercial partnership into a talent program and expanding the FC Bayern Academy in Kigali (Rwanda’s capital) along with the RDB as both a football and a social initiative, which is in perfect alignment with our strategic goal of developing talent in Africa.”
Bavaria did not specify whether to drop the “visit to Rwanda” brand as part of the transition. This is called transition. As of local time on Friday afternoon, the branding was still appearing in the Bayern website listing club sponsors and partners section.
RDB CEO Jean-Guy Afrika said the change in partnership by Bayern, which aims to “accelerate sports development” is intended to “continue the partnership with FC Bayern.”
Rwanda’s presence in European football has been steadily growing since 2018, first partnering with Arsenal to place the “Visit Rwanda” brand on the sleeves of the London Club shirts.
The contract with PSG was signed in 2019 and renewed in April this year. It covered stadium branding and includes shirt sleeve sponsorship at the Club World Cup. A three-year deal with Atletico sponsors was agreed in April, including training and branding for warm-up shirts.
Rwanda has been accused of supporting the M23 rebel group, the most powerful of the over 100 armed groups fighting for control in the mineral-rich eastern Congo across the border with Rwanda. Rwanda is also accused of exploiting eastern Congo’s minerals, which are used in smartphones, advanced fighter jets and more.
However, Rwandan authorities claim that some of the people who participated in the 1994 Rwanda Genocide fled to the Congo and were working with or protected by the Congolese forces. They denied any involvement in the Congolese mineral sector and said the security measures taken were to protect its territory.
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