Aston Villa have taken ‘reputational risk’ with £20m deal - Keith Wyness
Aston Villa are at risk of severely damaging their reputation after agreeing a deal for Visit Rwanda to become their new front-of-shirt sponsor.
That is according to former Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the agreement will “invite speculation” as to how the money is being used.
There is currently an ongoing humanitarian crisis in East-Central Africa, which provided controversy in some areas during their eight-year partnership with Arsenal that ended after the 2025-26 campaign.
Wyness has stressed that the deal is strong from Villa’s perspective in a financial sense, but he has also warned that they can expect to face “questions” as the partnership pays out.
Recent reports have suggested that the deal will be worth up to the £20million mark for the club, who had previously been struggling to find a front-of-shirt sponsorship.
The new ban on gambling sponsors in that department has left many clubs still without a sponsor for their new shirts at this stage of the summer, but Villa have now avoided that issue.
Keith Wyness: Visit Rwanda sponsorship is a ‘reputational risk’
Villa’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a consultancy business advising elite clubs – believes that the club are taking a “reputational risk” by taking on the partnership with Visit Rwanda.
The Scottish businessman is a strong advocate for political issues being kept out of football, and believes that speculation regarding the new deal is inevitable in the coming months.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained why Villa’s new sponsorship is a risky option for them.
“Well, that's a reasonable financial return for Villa. They’re a club that's prided itself and always been very conscious to try and do the right thing with the front of shirt,” he said.
“I'm not saying Rwanda is necessarily a problem, but it does lead to speculation from different quarters as to the Rwanda situation. I've got to say, I don't think Rwanda has ever been considered to be a major tourist destination.
“It's interesting as to where those tickets go as part of the sponsorship, who uses them, how they're utilised in Rwanda. It just begs a lot of questions. So while it's a good financial deal, it does bring in some reputational questions that come with this deal.
“Arsenal went through it, and while we don't like politics in football, as I've said many times, it's still the case that this does invite speculation. So we'll see how it goes.
“But as I say, it's just one little reputational risk that's a possibility. And we've got to see how that's managed going forward.”
Aston Villa offered Chelsea striker
Football Insider revealed on Tuesday that Villa have been offered the chance to sign Chelsea striker Liam Delap this summer.
The Blues are on the verge of sealing their £117m move for Morgan Rogers, and are now turning their attention towards offloading some of their squad players as a result.
Delap has been deemed surplus to requirements under new boss Xabi Alonso, but sources say that Villa have no interest in making a move for the 23-year-old right now.
Unai Emery is understood to want a more dynamic and pacy attacker to lead the line, with the Villans keeping a close eye on Nicolas Jackson once again.