KIGALI.Rwanda has secured a new Premier League sponsorship with Aston Villa, months after announcing the end of its eight-year partnership with Arsenal.
This comes as Kigali presses ahead with a strategy of using elite football to promote local tourism, investment and exports despite growing scrutiny of such deals.
Under the agreement announced on Wednesday, Visit Rwanda becomes Aston Villa’s Principal Partner, Official Tourism Partner and Official Coffee Provider, with the country’s branding set to appear on the front of the men’s, women’s and academy team shirts.
Aston Villa described it as the biggest commercial sponsorship in the club’s history.
The deal comes after Arsenal and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said they would conclude their sleeve sponsorship at the end of the 2025/26 season after eight years
President Paul Kagame recently said the Arsenal partnership ended after the two sides failed to agree on terms for a new contract, rejecting suggestions that political pressure had driven the split.
“I will continue being an Arsenal fan,” Kagame told a news conference.
“A partnership like that… is a commercial partnership.”
He said negotiations over renewing the agreement “went wrong” after both sides disagreed on changes to the contract, adding: “This is really what happened.”
The Arsenal deal had faced increasing criticism in Europe.
Earlier last year, Bayern Munich ended its Visit Rwanda partnership following sustained pressure from supporters, while the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust also raised concerns over the sponsorship.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has also urged Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain to terminate Visit Rwanda agreements, accusing Kigali of backing M23 rebels in eastern Congo, allegations Rwanda denies.
Rwanda has maintained that its sports sponsorship strategy is designed to attract tourists, investors and business travellers while promoting the country’s exports and conservation efforts.
Aston Villa President of Business Operations Francesco Calvo said the agreement reflected the club’s growing international ambitions.
“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,” Calvo said.
“There is a great range and depth of opportunities for collaboration, learning and innovation and we are looking forward to working with Visit Rwanda to deliver meaningful activations through tourism, investment and sporting development.”
Janet Karemera, Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Convention Bureau, said the partnership would help Rwanda reach new international audiences.
“This sponsorship is a powerful expression of Rwanda’s ambition to engage global audiences through one of the world’s most influential platforms and position our country as a destination to visit, invest and do business,” she said.
“Building on eight successful years of raising awareness and engagement in the United Kingdom, one of Rwanda’s key tourism source markets, we look forward to working with Aston Villa to expand our reach to new audiences in the UK, across Europe and beyond.
The agreement also includes collaboration on football development, coaching, leadership programmes and charitable initiatives in Rwanda.
Visit Rwanda has become one of the most recognisable tourism brands in European football since launching its first major club partnership with Arsenal in 2018.
Rwanda says the campaign helped lift international visitor arrivals to 1.3 million in 2024, generating tourism revenues of $650 million.
The Aston Villa agreement signals Kigali’s intention to maintain its presence in the Premier League as it broadens its sports marketing partnerships.