German football giant Bayern Munich is shifting away from its “Visit Rwanda” sponsorship deal amid protests from fans over the conflict in eastern DR Congo.
The club announced a “new arrangement” that “transitions the relationship away from a commercial sponsorship to a dedicated partnership focusing on football development in Rwanda,” it said on Friday. The UN has provided evidence of Kigali’s support for the M23 rebel group that is battling DR Congo forces in the country’s east, a charge Rwanda denies. Kigali signed a US-brokered peace deal with Kinshasa in Washington in June.
Rwanda has in recent years sealed global tourism promotion partnerships with other top-flight European clubs, such as Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. But the clubs have come under growing pressure to end their sponsorship deals in light of the worsening humanitarian crisis in DR Congo.