Sources: Controversial new deal imminent after Arsenal bank £40m
Arsenal partners Visit Rwanda have held talks with several leading clubs in Spain and Italy over a new flagship sponsorship deal, sources have told Football Insider.
The Rwandan tourist board have been Arsenal’s sleeve sponsor since 2018 and also have a commercial alliance with Paris Saint-Germain.
The organisation is now close to agreeing a deal with another elite club, as has been forecasted by Rwandan president Paul Kagame, who is an Arsenal supporter.
A well-placed commercial source told this site that an announcement is expected before the 2023-24 campaign.
Visit Rwanda’s foray into sports sponsorship has attracted controversy domestically and from commentators abroad, with the finances and ethics of their various deals called into question.
Arsenal are believed to receive around £10million per year to display Visit Rwanda’s branding on their sleeves, meaning they have banked £40m since the partnership began in 2019.
That is a sum which many Rwandan analysts believe represents poor value for the taxpayer.
Groups such as Amnesty International meanwhile have condemned Rwanda for human rights abuses and accused the government of attempting to launder its reputation through sports.
Rwanda has trousered £140m as part of the UK government’s plans to divert asylum seekers to the east African country – and that scheme has also been heavily criticised on a human rights and legal basis.
But the nation – which has close diplomatic and business ties to fellow football prospectors Qatar – shows no signs of relenting in its involvement in the sport.
Capital city Kigali hosted FIFA’s annual congress last week, where Gianni Infantino was re-elected as the governing body’s president.
Visit Rwanda’s deal with league leaders Arsenal runs until 2025 and is among the most lucrative sleeve sponsorship arrangements in the Premier League.
The tourism sector is making major inroads in the Premier League sponsorship market, which geopolitics expert Professor Simon Chadwick has described to this site as the “most efficient advertising platform in the world.”
Most of the division’s top clubs have an official tourism partner, and Football Insider has previously been told that the tourist boards of Saudi Arabia and Botswana are also keen to enter the market.
Arsenal’s North London rivals Tottenham meanwhile recently saw a proposed £42.5m deal with Visit South Africa scrapped because of a backlash in the country relating to the cost of the deal for the public purse.
In other news, Brighton make move to block Arsenal signing £20,000-a-week sensation.