Aston Villa agree 'really important' deal despite Visit Rwanda controversy - Stefan Borson

Visit Rwanda would have been low on Aston Villa's list of potential sponsors, but the club had backed itself into a corner.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that the new deal is vital for batting SCR and Football Earnings breaches.

With rumours of the Villans striking a deal with Visit Rwanda, many expected them to become a sleeve sponsor at the very most.

However, ahead of the 2026-27 campaign, the controversial travel company will become the club's front-of-shirt sponsor at Villa Park.

Arsenal only recently brought an end to their seven-year deal with Visit Rwanda, a partnership that was often frowned upon due to the humanitarian issues in east-central Africa.

Unai Emery's side have been desperately searching for a new front-of-shirt sponsor, though, and it looks to be a very smart acquisition with just weeks left until the 2026-27 campaign kicks off.

Aston Villa must overlook 'controversial' concerns with Visit Rwanda

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson believes Villa have done the "right thing" despite concerns over the Visit Rwanda deal this summer.

"It's needs must, and clearly in an ideal world, that wouldn't be on the front of the shirt. I don't think that's a controversial statement," he said.

"The timing of it tells you that this wasn't plan A. But it's good money. Lots of other clubs are sponsored by Visit Rwanda, and I think they have to pursue commercially whatever they can right now.

"If you look at the challenges that they've got in relation to, particularly, the UEFA situation with SCR and the Football Earnings settlement agreement, both of them give them the need to bring in revenue.

"This sort of commercial revenue is really important because it's very high margin. It's a proposition that if you don't take it for the season, it's lost forever.

"You can't go back and mitigate that loss if you turn it down. So I think they've done the right thing.

"Obviously they'd like more money and would like a more blue-chip brand on a longer partnership. But it's it's not always easy to do."

How much would Villa have lost without the deal?

It is believed that Villa's new deal could be worth in the region of £20million, but that figure is being heavily disputed by different sources.

Whether it's £20m or slightly less valuable at, say £15m, that would still be a lot of money lost due to poor planning around a front-of-shirt sponsor.

Multiple clubs, including Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, are struggling with the same problem ahead of next season, though, and it's a huge concern.

While many will disagree with Villa's new partnership, it is a massively important one given the club's financial woes over the last few seasons.