Arsenal has announced that it will not renew its sponsorship agreement with Visit Rwanda after the conclusion of this season.
The English club had been earning approximately £10 million per year from the sleeve sponsorship deal it signed with the company in 2018.
Visit Rwanda also has sponsorship agreements with several major European clubs. In April, Paris Saint-Germain extended their deal until 2028, while Atlético Madrid signed a three-year agreement to feature the logo on their men’s and women’s kits this season. Bayern Munich’s partnership with Visit Rwanda also remains in place.
Arsenal stated that the club and the Rwanda Development Board had “mutually agreed” to terminate the deal.
A fan group known as Gunners for Peace held a protest outside the Emirates Stadium before the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, displaying a banner that read “Drop Visit Rwanda” and distributing armbands to cover the Visit Rwanda logo on the kits.
These protests proved effective, and Gunners for Peace said in an Instagram post that Arsenal still has “the class and the values to do the right thing.”
“We all know that money talks, but if fans come together and speak louder, then clubs have no choice but to listen,” the group said.