By Black Star News
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
German soccer powerhouse Bayern Munich is moving away from its “Visit Rwanda” sponsorship due to fan protests regarding the DR Congo conflict.
The Bavarian based club first entered into the five-year $5.82 million dollar agreement with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), in 2023, to promote tourism in Rwanda. In recent years, Rwanda has signed similar deals with other European soccer clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal.
Rwanda is a known supporter of the M23 paramilitary group that has killed close to 400 civilians, just last month, between July 9 to July 21, despite a US-brokered ceasefire.
The German soccer champions are now saying they have reached a new three-year deal which will focus on sports development in Rwanda, not on tourism.
Bayern Munich’s chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen explained the new agreement “transitions the relationship away from a commercial sponsorship.”
“In constructive talks about our future direction, we agreed that a very special part of our relationship with RDB was the developmental nature of our work in Kigali through the FC Bayern Academy,” said Dreesen. “We are therefore transforming our commercial partnership into a talent programme and expanding the FC Bayern Academy in Kigali together with the RDB as both a football and social initiative. This remains perfectly aligned to our strategic objective of developing playing talent in Africa.”
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