Arsenal to end eight-year Visit Rwanda sponsorship deal

Arsenal have confirmed their sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda will end in June 2026 after eight seasons.

Arsenal said in a statement on Wednesday that the decision to conclude the deal was mutual and reflected the east African tourist board’s aims to “diversify its global sports partnerships and expand into new markets”.

The deal with Arsenal’s first sleeve sponsor began in 2018 and brought in £10million ($13.4m) according to club accounts for 2023-24.

After extending the sponsorship in 2021, The Athletic reported in October that the Premier League club were in talks to extend the contract again, despite the association with Visit Rwanda attracting criticism and protests from supporters.

Arsenal fan group Gunners For Peace staged a protest against the sponsorship in April. They said in a statement in October that discussions over the deal extension “shows the world that our famous ‘values’ and our soul are for sale”.

Rwanda is led by president Paul Kagame of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) party, who is an Arsenal fan. The UK government suspended aid to Rwanda in February over its support for the rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, M23.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report in 2023 stated that RPF “continued to wage a campaign against real and perceived opponents of the government” and that “over a dozen political opposition members are in prison” and many are “being prosecuted or have been convicted on spurious grounds”.

Richard Garlick, Arsenal’s CEO, said: “The commitment and support of Visit Rwanda throughout our partnership has played an important role in driving forward our ambitions – helping us invest in our long-term vision to win major trophies, in a financially sustainable way. We thank the Rwanda Development Board for their partnership and what we’ve delivered together.”

Visit Rwanda also has a sponsorship deal with La Liga side Atletico Madrid, Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain, NBA side LA Clippers and NFL side Los Angeles Rams, who, like Arsenal, are owned by American businessman Stan Kroenke. Bayern Munich, however, announced in August that it was “transitioning away” from a commercial partnership to one centred on football development.