Arsenal sought out controversial sponsorship deal with Rwanda, government official claims

The chief operating officer of the poverty-stricken African nation’s development board has claimed the controversial partnership was Arsenal’s idea

Arsenal sought out a controversial £30m sponsorship deal with Rwanda, the chief operating officer of the poverty-stricken African nation’s development board has claimed.

The country’s government signed a three-year sponsorship and tourism promotional deal with the club in May, which led to the “Visit Rwanda” tourist board logo being placed on the left sleeve of all players in Arsenal’s first, under-23 and women’s teams.

The deal immediately drew criticism from politicians in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and several other countries.

Questions were raised about the country entering into a multi-million pound commercial agreement when it has received more than $1bn in foreign aid and development assistance in 2016.

The deal is thought to be worth £30m (Getty)

Rwanda is one of the poorest nations in the world according to the World Bank, with United Nations figures showing that more than 60 per cent of the country’s population live below the poverty line.

But in a rare interview on national radio, Emmanuel Hategeka has insisted it was Arsenal who first reached out to the Rwandan tourist board rather than the other way around.

“By the way they approached us because they love Rwanda,” Mr Hategeka said on the Rwanda Beyond The Headlines show on KT Radio 96.7FM.

“They said ‘by the way can we do something together. And if so what could that be? How could we promote you? How can we work together?’”

Criticism of the deal was particularly fierce in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Both countries donate millions to Rwanda in foreign aid each year.

Mr Hategeka however stressed that it was essential to update the global perception of the country, while boosting the tourism sector.

The partnership was first announced in May (AFP/Getty)

Tourism is the biggest foreign exchange earner in the country, with the government hopeful of doubling revenues from the sector from $400m in 2017 to $800m by 2024. Gorilla tracking and game safaris fuel the growing industry.

“Beyond the complaints, beyond the noise, beyond the headlines that we have seen around this visit Rwanda campaign, it remains one of our biggest campaigns in terms of promoting our tourism industry in Rwanda,” he added.

“Lets probably start from the basics; first tourism is our leading foreign exchange earner having generated over $480m in foreign exchange for 2017.

“Secondly, we have a target to double that to over $800m (£619m) by 2024. Third, we have a strategy to achieve that. I wouldn’t want to look at the Arsenal deal in isolation of every other thing that we have been doing to promote tourism in Rwanda.”

Rwanda is among the poorest countries in the world (AFP/Getty)

When contacted by The Independent, Arsenal declined the opportunity to comment. But in a statement published to announce the deal in May the club’s CCO, Vinai Venkatesham, praised the “exciting partnership”.

“This is an exciting partnership which will see us support Rwanda’s ambition to build their tourism industry. The country has been transformed in recent years and Arsenal’s huge following will bring Rwanda into people’s minds in a new and dynamic way.

“The Arsenal shirt is seen 35 million times a day globally and we are one of the most viewed teams around the world. We look forward to working with the ‘Visit Rwanda’ team to further establish the country as a leading tourist destination.”