The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has urgently called on European football giants Arsenal, Paris St-Germain (PSG), and Bayern Munich to terminate their sponsorship deals with Visit Rwanda, labeling the contracts as “blood-stained” due to Rwanda’s alleged role in the worsening humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo.
The appeal comes amid escalated conflict, including the capture of Goma, the largest city in eastern DR Congo, by M23 rebels, a group which UN experts maintain is under the “de facto control of Rwandan army operations.” The conflict has displaced over 400,000 people this year alone.
DR Congo’s Foreign Minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, has formally written to the owners and president of the three clubs, challenging the “morality” of the deals.
She specifically highlighted concerns that the Visit Rwanda sponsorship could be funded by the illicit mining and export of blood minerals plundered from occupied parts of DR Congo and smuggled across the border.
In her letter to Arsenal, she cited a UN report that 4,000 Rwandan troops are active in the DRC, arguing that Rwanda’s “culpability” is “incontrovertible,” and urged the club to end its ties for the sake of the victims of Rwandan aggression.
These Visit Rwanda deals – which began with Arsenal in 2018 (reportedly worth over $12 million annually), followed by PSG in 2019, and Bayern Munich in 2023 – have been widely criticized as ‘sportswashing.’ This is a strategy where governments use investments in high-profile sports to enhance their global image and deflect attention from poor human rights records and domestic issues.
Human Rights Watch, for instance, argues that these sponsorships and events, such as Rwanda’s bid to host a Formula 1 race and the upcoming World Road Championships, help conceal the country’s “abysmal track record” on human rights. The Rwandan government, however, dismisses accusations of sportswashing as a “distraction” from the country’s “outstanding achievements.”
