A number of Arsenal fans campaigning for the Premier League side not to renew its sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda have called on the Gunners’ board to “put financial gains aside”.
The Gunners for Peace group are suggesting that Tottenham, home to the club’s arch-rivals, would be a preferable sleeve sponsor to Rwanda.
The African nation’s partnerships with Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain have come under the spotlight after increased violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where authorities say 7,000 people have been killed since January.
The Congolese government accuses Rwanda of arming M23 rebels and sending troops to support the militants. Despite assertions from both the United Nations and United States, Rwanda has denied supporting the M23.
“In Congo, or amongst the Congolese community, they are ripping or cutting off the Visit Rwanda part of the Arsenal shirt,” campaigner Joe Mbu, who was born in DR Congo, told BBC Sport Africa.
Fellow Congolese Tresor Kudabika, who has modified his own kit to bear his nation’s flag on the sleeve, agrees the links to Rwanda are hurting the team’s popularity.
“We had the (Uefa Champions League) quarter-final against Real Madrid. The whole country in Congo was supporting Real,” he said.
Gunners for Peace say that, after recent polling, six in 10 Arsenal fans support ending the Visit Rwanda deal.
Visit Rwanda’s sleeve partnership with Arsenal began in 2018, and the current deal – which campaigners believe runs out at the end of this season – is reportedly worth more than £10m ($13.3m) per year.
Last week French club PSG, who face the Gunners in the semi-finals of the Champions League, renewed their partnership with Visit Rwanda until 2028.
That decision came despite an online petition calling on PSG to terminate the deal garnering 75,000 signatures.
Mbu and his fellow campaigners remain hopeful the north London outfit will not follow suit.
“I believe that they can do the right thing. The good thing about it is that we have been in communication with representatives from Arsenal,” Mbu said.
“At what point do we look at putting financial gains aside and look at the humanity of it?
“For Arsenal to continue with the sponsorship would be a great shame.”
Arsenal said the club will not be commenting on the Gunners for Peace campaign, while a Rwanda government spokesperson defended their sports partnerships and said they helped boost the country’s economy.
Meanwhile, the secretary general of the Arsenal Rwanda Supporters Club told BBC Sport Africa that assertions the broader fanbase were split over the deal “over-state the scale of dissent”.
Rwanda recently hosted a fan festival, external for the continent, bringing together supporters from over 10 countries.
“The festival showcased strong pan-African backing for the team and for the Visit Rwanda collaboration,” Arsenal Rwanda’s Olivier Nemeye said.
“Political grievances are properly addressed in diplomatic or multilateral forums (such as the African Union or UN), not via football sponsorships.”
Why ‘Visit Tottenham?’
Gunners for Peace first posted a spoof video online advertising the “beautiful streets” of Tottenham before unveiling a billboard close to the Emirates Stadium bearing the message ‘Visit Tottenham’.
“It is a joke with a very serious punchline,” organiser James Turner said.
“What we’re trying to do is to make the point that we really can’t think of a worse sponsor than Rwanda.
“Obviously most Arsenal fans wouldn’t want to be sponsored by Tottenham.
“We simply want a sponsor that better fits the values of the club.”
The group also handed out armbands to supporters, which could be used to cover the Visit Rwanda logo on the sleeve of shirts, ahead of Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
“People have to feel free to wear Arsenal shirts,” Kudabika explained.
“You can’t be feeling ashamed to wear an Arsenal shirt because it has Visit Rwanda on it.”
Gunners for Peace are set to order more armbands ahead of the home leg of the Champions League tie against PSG next Tuesday, and are also in discussions with fans of the French club about potential joint action.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich have not issued an update on their football development and tourism promotion partnership with Rwanda since early February, when the German club sent two employees out to the country to “monitor the situation”.
Ceasefire and ‘economic transformation’
The decades-long conflict in eastern DR Congo has intensified since January when M23 staged an unprecedented offensive, seizing the cities of Goma and Bukavu and sparking fears of a wider regional war.
Rwanda has said its forces are acting in self-defence against the Congolese army and allied militias, some of which it accuses of links to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
DR Congo also accuses Rwanda of illegally exploiting its mineral deposits, which Rwanda denies.
However, DR Congo and the rebels have agreed to halt fighting until peace talks mediated by Qatar reach their “conclusion”.
On Wednesday both sides jointly announced they will work towards peace following more than a week of talks described as “frank and constructive”.
Rwanda’s government has been accused of investing in sport to enhance its global image – a strategy labelled by critics as ‘sportswashing’.
Alongside the Visit Rwanda deals, Kigali is set to be the venue for cycling’s World Road Championships in September but hopes of the country hosting a Formula 1 race appear to have receded.
The Rwandan government said its sports partnerships had played an important role in the country’s “economic transformation” since 1994, and that African countries should get “more involved” in the sector.
“The Visit Rwanda tourism campaign allowed Rwanda to generate nearly $650m (£488m) in tourism revenues last year,” a spokesperson told BBC Sport Africa.
“Elite sport is no longer the preserve of the few countries who have historically controlled it.
“Global sporting organisations are embracing the rest of the world as they see the chance to grow new fans.”
Rwanda’s decision to go into partnership with Arsenal seven years ago was perhaps unsurprising, given that the country’s President, Paul Kagame, is a Gunners fan.
Even with peace talks ongoing, Kudabika is insistent that his club should now cut those ties.
“Wearing Visit Rwanda is just telling people that it’s okay for people to kill people from Congo,” he said.
“I believe that if Arsenal value their standards they will drop this.”
