When Arsenal first announced their partnership with the Rwanda tourist board it saw them pocket £30m for advertising a ‘Visit Rwanda’ tourist logo on their shirtsleeve which drew varying opinions.
To start with there are concerns as to why the country would pay out such an amount for marketing when it has been given financial assistance of over $1bn in foreign aid in 2016. The fact that President Paul Kagame is a huge Arsenal fan adds to the concerns around the deal. It has been seen by some as a way for him to connect with his ‘beloved club’.
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The Deal has drawn criticism from UK and Netherlands politicians
Several politicians in the UK and the Netherlands have shown their disapproval of the deal and have outlined doubt that this will result in a dramatic increase for tourism in Rwanda. Having an advert that is shown to millions of viewers from all across the world is great for raising profile but whether that is the right area that Rwanda should be spending money is a major bone of contention.
Rwanda has 60% of their population in poverty
Now the Chief Operating Officer of the Rwanda Development Board has announced that it was Arsenal that approached Rwanda ‘because they love Rwanda’. The controversy surrounding the deal looks to rumble on and not least due to the fact that over 60% of the population of Rwanda live in poverty.
The Rwanda Development Board believe that the deal is going to have a hugely positive outcome in terms of opening up people’s views of Rwanda and encouraging more people to visit the country. However, the results will not be measurable for some time and the political conflict that this has caused is surely not worth doing it either way.