Bayern Munich veers from Rwanda sponsorship after criticism

Al Jazeera

a day ago

Bayern Munich has signalled it will cut down on 'Visit Rwanda' branding as it moves 'away from a commercial sponsorship' with the African nation facing a backlash over alleged support for rebels in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Bayern dismissed allegations of 'sportswashing' when it signed a five-year deal with Rwanda in 2023. It included advertisements in the stadium and what Bayern called events 'to promote tourism and investment opportunities in Rwanda'.
At the time, it replaced a sponsorship deal with Qatar. Rwanda has similar sponsorships with European football giants like Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.
Some Bayern fans displayed a large banner at a game in February protesting against the deal amid accusations from the United Nations that Rwanda has backed rebels in the DRC.
Now the German football champions say they have reached a new deal with Rwanda that turns the existing sponsorship into a three-year agreement focusing on developing young football players at a Bayern-affiliated academy in the country.
'In constructive talks about our future direction, we agreed that a very special part of our relationship with [the Rwanda Development Board (RDB)] was the developmental nature of our work in Kigali through the FC Bayern Academy,' Bayern Chief Executive Jan-Christian Dreesen said on Friday in a statement.
'We are therefore transforming our commercial partnership into a talent programme and expanding the FC Bayern Academy in Kigali together with the RDB as both a football and social initiative. This remains perfectly aligned to our strategic objective of developing playing talent in Africa.'
Bayern didn't specify how soon it would drop 'Visit Rwanda' branding as part of the move, which it described as a transition. As of Friday afternoon, the branding was still displayed under a section of the Bayern website listing club sponsors and partners.
RDB Chief Executive Jean-Guy Afrika was quoted by Bayern as saying the changes to the partnership aimed to 'accelerate sports development', adding: '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.'
Rwanda's presence in European football has grown steadily since 2018 when it first partnered with Arsenal to put 'Visit Rwanda' branding on the London club's shirt sleeves.
An agreement with PSG was signed in 2019 and renewed in April this year. It covers branding in the stadium and included shirt-sleeve sponsorship at the Club World Cup. A three-year deal to sponsor Atletico was agreed in April, including branding on training and warm-up shirts.
Rwanda is accused of supporting the M23 rebel group, the strongest of more than 100 armed groups vying for dominance in the mineral-rich eastern DRC just across the border from Rwanda. Rwanda also has been accused of exploiting the eastern DRC's minerals, used in smartphones, advanced fighter jets and much more.
Rwandan authorities alleged that some of the people who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled to the DRC and are either working with or are being protected by the Congolese army. They have denied involvement in the DRC's minerals sector and said any security action taken is to protect its own territory.