Rwanda after years of being the main kits sponsor for Arsenal FC has indicated their decision not extend their sponsorship package at the end of 2025.
It’s been eight years since Rwanda made the decisive decision to sponsor arguably one of the biggest club in Europe, Arsenal for an annual ten-million sponsorship deal at the time the contract was being signed.
Brief history of Rwanda’s deal with Arsenal:
After Rwanda had under-gone a horrible patch in the country’s history, the leadership of the country at the time in their quest to reposition the country as one of the peaceful and interesting tourism hubs in the world, they embark on a journey of sponsoring Arsenal FC in exchange of catching the needed eyes balls who will be yearning to visit their country.
This decision sparked up divergent opinions even up till now. Many were of the opinion that, the country was not financially stable to dash out such amount of money as sponsorship whiles others believe in the vision of the leadership.
In the long-run, the sponsorship which has speared headed by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) had managed to sealed the deal hence, the mantra, #VisitRwanda was coin in order to sell the nations and reassure its potential investors at the time, how safe and secured their investment would be should they decide to come and invest in the country.
“One year after the partnership began, Rwanda’s tourism revenue increased 17% and tourists from EU increased by 22%. Visitor arrivals reached 1.3 million in 2024, with tourism revenues rising to USD$650 million, a 47% increase since the partnership began,” RDB asserted.
Partnerships made by #visitRwanda:
The sponsorship train did not only end at the door steps of the Gunners, it further extended it’s net to some other top European clubs such as Paris-Saint Germain, Atletico Madrid and the German Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich.
Clearly, the partnership deals made by Rwanda seemed outrageous at the time however, it largely yielded positive results and value for money plus profits were accrued.
Further, Rwanda’s RBC claimed that, partnering with Arsenal created over 100,000 jobs for Rwandans in the tourism industry whiles gaining 17% of foreign aid in the country’s budget annually.
Today, after eight years of partnership, Rwanda are looking to tap into newer markets hence, would not continue with the contract with Arsenal once the existing contract expires at the end of 2025.
