Bayern Munich to move away from its ‘Visit Rwanda’ sponsorship this season after criticism from fans | OneFootball

Bayern Munich has signalled a significant reduction in its "Visit Rwanda" branding, transitioning away from a commercial sponsorship with the African nation following a backlash over its alleged support for rebels in neighbouring Congo. The German football champions announced a new agreement that reconfigures their existing partnership into a three-year deal, focusing instead on developing young players at a Bayern-affiliated academy in Rwanda.

The original five-year deal, signed in 2023, saw Bayern dismiss allegations of "sportswashing" at the time. It included prominent "Visit Rwanda" advertisements within the stadium and aimed to promote tourism and investment opportunities in the country. This agreement had notably replaced a controversial sponsorship deal with Qatar. Rwanda maintains similar high-profile sponsorships with other European football giants, including Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Atletico Madrid.

Public discontent with the partnership escalated in February when some Bayern fans displayed a large banner protesting the deal during a game. This came amid accusations from the United Nations that Rwanda has been backing rebel groups in eastern Congo.

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Fans of Bayern Munich react after the Bundesliga match against RB Leipzig (Getty Images)

Under the revised terms, the focus shifts to a developmental initiative. Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen stated: "In constructive talks about our future direction, we agreed that a very special part of our relationship with (the Rwanda Development Board) was the developmental nature of our work in Kigali through the FC Bayern Academy. We are therefore transforming our commercial partnership into a talent programme and expanding the FC Bayern Academy in (Rwanda's capital) 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 did not specify the timeline for phasing out the "Visit Rwanda" branding, describing the change as a transition. As of Friday afternoon local time, the branding remained visible on a section of the club's website listing sponsors and partners.

Jean-Guy Afrika, chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board, was quoted by Bayern as saying the changes 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 steadily increased since 2018, when it first partnered with Arsenal to feature "Visit Rwanda" on the London club's shirt sleeves. An agreement with PSG was signed in 2019 and renewed in April this year, covering stadium branding and shirt-sleeve sponsorship at the Club World Cup. A three-year deal to sponsor Atletico Madrid, including branding on training and warm-up shirts, was agreed in April.

The accusations against Rwanda centre on its alleged support for the M23 rebel group, which is the most potent of over 100 armed factions vying for dominance in mineral-rich eastern Congo, just across the border. Rwanda has also been accused of exploiting eastern Congo’s minerals, which are crucial for products like smartphones and advanced fighter jets.

However, Rwandan authorities counter these claims by alleging that some participants in the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled into Congo and are either collaborating with or being protected by the Congolese army. They have consistently denied involvement in Congo’s minerals sector, asserting that any security actions taken are solely to protect their own territory.