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Local Germany
a day ago
- Local Germany
Bayern ends Rwanda tourism sponsorship after criticism
Bayern on Friday announced its partnership with the African nation, initially signed in 2023 and set to run until 2028, would shift to focus on a youth academy. "The new arrangement transitions away from a commercial sponsorship to a dedicated partnership focusing on football development in Rwanda through the expansion of the FC Bayern Youth Academy in Kigali," Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said in a statement. The statement did not expressly mention the underlying reasons for the shift, but German media on Friday widely reported the decision was motivated by criticism as a result of the escalating conflict. In February, Bayern fans held up a banner at a home game saying the deal "betrayed the values" of the club. The Rwandan government has been accused of disregarding human rights and supporting rebels fighting against government forces in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the beginning of 2025, violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo intensified. The Rwandan-backed M23 armed group and Rwandan troops seized Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, in January, and then Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, in February. Advertisement The UN estimates thousands have died as a result of the attacks. The deal included 'Visit Rwanda' advertising at Bayern's 75,000-seat Allianz Arena home ground and replaced a controversial deal with Qatar, which was also criticised by the club's supporters. Following criticism of the previous deal, Bayern sent staff to Rwanda to assess the situation on the ground. The new contract runs until 2028. Premier League side Arsenal and Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain also have faced criticism for similar sponsorship deals with Rwanda.
DW
2 days ago
- DW
Bayern Munich end Rwanda sponsorship after pressure – DW – 08/08/2025
Two days after signing a deal with UAE-owned airline Emirates, Bayern Munich has ended its commercial deal with the tourism arm of the Rwandan government. The move comes after pressure from fans and media. After months of silence amid growing criticism, Bayern Munich has announced that it will no longer promote "Visit Rwanda," the tourism arm of the African country's government. "The new arrangement transitions the relationship away from a commercial sponsorship to a dedicated partnership focusing on football development in Rwanda through the expansion of the FC Bayern Youth Academy in Kigali," read a statement on the club website posted on Friday. Previously, the agreement had been that Bayern would also display 'Visit Rwanda' advertising on pitchside hoardings and "promote tourism and investment opportunities in Rwanda." A letter written by DR Congo's Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner in February called on Bayern Munich and two other clubs sponsored by Rwanda — Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) — to end "blood-stained sponsorship deals with this oppressor nation" in relation to the conflict between the two countries, where a fragile ceasefire currently holds. It sparked global interest on the clubs' relationship with the country, which has invested heavily in sports in recent years. Rwanda is widely accepted, including by the United Nations, to be supporting M23, a rebel group of ethnic Tutsis who have captured swathes of territory in DR Congo and been accused of brutality of various kinds. While a fragile ceasefire, brokered by the USA, is in place between Rwanda and DR Congo, it is not expected to last long. Shortly after that open letter, Bayern Chairman Jan-Christian Dreesen told DW that he had "personally sent two employees to Rwanda to monitor the situation. Our colleagues will return this week and report back." No such report was ever made public and Bayern repeatedly ignored requests for an update from DW. Later that month, Bayern fans raised a banner criticizing the partnership. It read: "Visit Rwanda — whoever looks on with indifference is betraying the values of FC Bayern!" "This remains perfectly aligned to our strategic objective of developing playing talent in Africa," the statement read. It also confirmed that the contract expiry date of 2028 remains unchanged. Jean-Guy Afrika, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board, part of the government, reaffirmed his country's aims. "This continued partnership with FC Bayern helps ensure that talent development remains anchored in our broader vision to position Rwanda as a global hub for tourism, investment, and high-performance sport," he said. Other clubs with ties to Rwanda have also been silent on the issues raised by Kayikwamba Wagner, with PSG extending their deal in April and Atletico Madrid signing on to have "Visit Rwanda" as their main shirt sponsor for men's and women's teams in the same month. They too may now come under renewed pressure to follow Bayern's lead. The commerical aspect of the Rwanda deal was believed to be worth about €5 million ($5.8 million) a year to the Bundesliga champions. But any loss had already been offset by a similar deal with Emirates airline, owned and operated by the government of the United Arab Emirates announced on Wednesday. Given that country's human rights record, that too seems likely to spark controversy.
DW
2 days ago
- DW
Bayern Munich sign sponsorship deal with Emirates – DW – 08/08/2025
Bayern Munich have become the latest top-level football club to sign a deal with UAE-owned airline Emirates. The German champions are talking up the financial benefits but some think there is more to consider. Two years after ending their relationship with Qatar Airways amid fan protests, Bayern Munich has signed a new partnership with Emirates, the airline owned and operated by the United Arab Emirates. The agreement, announced on Wednesday, is similar to the one the football club has with Visit Rwanda, the tourist board of the African country, and will encompass pitchside advertising as well as what Bayern calls "joint activations on both companies' social and digital channels." Unlike in their deal with Rwanda, the German champions make no mention of any football academy in the UAE. Emirates, which reportedly missed out on Bayern's shirt sponsorship, is a familiar presence in football. The airline has deals of various prominence in place with Arsenal, Real Madrid and Lyon, among others, and sponsor the English FA Cup, the oldest national cup competition in football. They also have deals in place in many other sports and were previously a shirt sponsor for Hamburg in the Bundesliga. Michael Ott, a German lawyer who led fan protests against the Qatar Airways sponsorship, is disappointed that history is repeating itself. "It is deceptive but, in the end, probably makes sense given that my impression was always that the Qatar deal wasn't ended thanks to a shift in the mindset of Bayern officials but because Qatar didn't want to continue anymore. "So now they're doing the exact same thing once again. With the difference that the situation of migrant workers in UAE is probably even worse than in Qatar," he told DW. "It's impossible to justify an advertisement contract for a company belonging to such a state. I feel ashamed for Bayern." A 2024 report from Amnesty International said the country, made up of seven emirates including Dubai, was "criminalizing the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly" also noting its "strong economic relations with Israel amid the armed conflict in Gaza" and the use of "prolonged solitary confinement against prisoners in the mass trial of Emirati dissidents as a means of coercion and punishment." Michael Diederich, Bayern's deputy chairman, talked up the financial advantages of the deal, thought to be worth €5 million ($5.8 million) annually to the club, which recently spent €70 million on signing Colombian forward Luis Diaz from Livepool. "FC Bayern is very pleased to have gained a strong and shining partner in Emirates, which has been a committed supporter of club football in Europe for decades," he said. "FC Bayern also needs financial planning security to achieve its sporting goals, so Emirates is an ideal fit for our club's family of partners." That family of partners also includes long-term deals with German firms Adidas, Allianz and Audi, who each own a stake in the club. These comprise the club's so-called "main partners," alongside shirt sponsor Deutsche Telekom. Emirates now sit in the "platinum" tier just beneath with betting site Betano, Crypto platform Bitpanda and Visit Rwanda, among others.
