Arsenal out, Aston Villa in: Can football still rebrand Rwanda?
Kigali’s $27m (£20m) front-of-shirt deal with Aston Villa keeps its Premier League strategy alive. But as the spotlight on conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo shines brighter, its effort to separate football from politics becomes increasingly difficult.
When top-flight Premier League club Aston Villa unveiled Visit Rwanda as its new sponsor early this month, it marked the next phase of Kigali’s football diplomacy campaign, as its eight-year partnership with Arsenal drew to a close.
The deal comes as Rwanda faces international scrutiny over allegations that it supports the M23 rebel movement in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), claims Kigali denies.
Reportedly worth around £20m a season, the agreement is the biggest commercial deal in Aston Villa’s history, giving Rwanda one of the most valuable advertising spaces in global sport. The club’s growing profile and renewed ambitions make it a powerful platform for Kigali.
Aston Villa says the partnership will go beyond tourism promotion, highlighting Rwanda’s “growing reputation as a destination for business, investment, major events and sport”. The two sides will also collaborate on football coaching, charitable initiatives, leadership programmes and professional development opportunities.
Over the past eight years, Kigali has spent millions partnering with some of Europe’s biggest clubs, betting that football’s global reach could translate into tourism, investment and diplomatic influence.
A decade of football diplomacy
Launched in 2018, the Visit Rwanda campaign was built on a simple idea that sport could achieve what traditional nation branding often struggles to do.
Instead of conventional advertising, Kigali chose the world’s most popular sport. The first major breakthrough came with Arsenal, where the Visit Rwanda logo appeared on the club’s sleeve, placing the country in front of millions of fans every week.
A decade of football diplomacy
Launched in 2018, the Visit Rwanda campaign was built on a simple idea that sport could achieve what traditional nation branding often struggles to do.
Instead of conventional advertising, Kigali chose the world’s most popular sport. The first major breakthrough came with Arsenal, where the Visit Rwanda logo appeared on the club’s sleeve, placing the country in front of millions of fans every week.
The Arsenal partnership helped promote Rwanda’s conservation agenda and showcase gorilla trekking to a global audience. Arsenal players and club legends travelled to Rwanda for promotional content shoots, school visits and conservation events.
Kigali has since expanded Visit Rwanda, renewing its partnership with Paris Saint-Germain until 2028 and signing a new deal with Atlético Madrid. The country has also extended its sports diplomacy strategy into the United States through sponsorship agreements with the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Rams.
But the same visibility that made football attractive to Kigali has also brought greater scrutiny.
From image building to image defence
As Rwanda faces growing international criticism over the M23 rebellion in eastern DRC, its football partnerships have become part of a wider debate over whether sport can still shape how the country is perceived.
Kigali continues to present itself as a model of stability, economic transformation and good governance following the 1994 genocide, pointing to economic growth, infrastructure development and rising tourism.
But those achievements increasingly compete with another narrative. Rwanda has faced repeated accusations from the United Nations, Western governments and the Congolese government that it supports M23 rebels operating in eastern DRC. Kigali rejects those allegations, arguing that its security concerns are linked to armed groups operating near its border.
The controversy has turned Rwanda’s football sponsorships into a political flashpoint. Bayern Munich ended its commercial shirt sponsorship agreement with Kigali while maintaining football development cooperation, while Arsenal brought its eight-year Visit Rwanda partnership to an end. PSG and Atlético Madrid have also faced pressure from critics.
Why Aston Villa?
The timing of the agreement reflects changes in football’s commercial landscape. As Premier League clubs move away from gambling sponsors on the front of shirts, tourism boards, governments and investment agencies have become increasingly attractive partners.
For Aston Villa, the deal represents a major commercial upgrade. The club is emerging as a stronger Premier League force and offers Rwanda a global platform.
“This is a very exciting partnership for Aston Villa Football Club and a symbol of the club’s continuing expansion and growth into international markets,” said Francesco Calvo, the club’s head of business operations.
For Kigali, Aston Villa provides visibility in one of the world’s richest sporting markets. Janet Karemera, CEO of the Rwanda Convention Bureau, described the partnership as “a powerful expression of Rwanda’s ambition to engage global audiences through one of the world’s most influential platforms”.
Football analyst Momodou Gajaga says that global reach is precisely what makes European football valuable for countries seeking to boost their international image.
“European teams are very popular around the world. Having Visit Rwanda on their shirts will give a lot of visibility in marketing the East African nation as an attractive nation to visit,” he says. “This in turn is expected to generate a lot of revenue through tourism and raise the profile of the country globally.”
For Rwanda, that has always been the goal: attaching the country’s image to the ambition, success and global reach of elite sport.
Do football fans care about the politics?
The biggest uncertainty for Rwanda’s strategy is whether visibility can still translate into a positive reputation.
Critics argue that football partnerships risk giving Kigali a platform to reshape perceptions without addressing political controversies.
In April 2025, the fan group Gunners for Peace staged a series of protests during Arsenal’s final season with Visit Rwanda. The group erected a satirical ‘Visit Tottenham’ billboard outside the Emirates Stadium, distributed protest armbands and released spoof tourism videos, arguing that the sponsorship was incompatible with Arsenal’s values.
Read the full article on The Africa Report.