French soccer giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will continue to promote the Visit Rwanda tourism brand for the next three years after renewing and extending their deal with the Rwanda Development Board.
The renewal will see the Visit Rwanda logo continue to appear on the men’s team training and warm-up kit and the women's playing kit sleeve through 2028.
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In addition, the Visit Rwanda logo will now appear on the training kits of the PSG Academy teams based in the US and Canada, as well as on the sleeve of the PSG men’s team shirt during the upcoming 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, hosted by the US.
The brand will also maintain its strong visibility at the team’s home ground, Parc des Princes, during matchdays, with all tea and coffee served to be sourced exclusively from the East African nation. The club will also continue to showcase Rwanda as a top tourism destination across its digital platforms.
The continued partnership will also see the continuation of the PSG Academy Rwanda, launched in 2020, which offers training sessions to children.
Jean-Guy Afrika, chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board, has said: “This partnership has significantly contributed to positioning Rwanda as a leading destination for tourism and investment, and as a beacon for talent, sport, and cultural innovation.
“The renewal until 2028 allows us to build on this success and create even greater impact for Rwandans and the global Paris Saint-Germain community.”
The pair’s original three-year partnership, which started in 2019, was reportedly worth between €8 million ($8.78 million) and $10 million. It was then renewed in 2023 for another two years, taking that contract to the end of 2025.
This extension adds to the Rwanda Development Board’s two other major soccer partnerships.
The first is with English Premier League club Arsenal, with the current contract due to end after the 2024-25 season. That deal sees the Visit Rwanda logo feature on the sleeve of the men’s first team and branding at the club’s home ground, Emirates Stadium.
The second is with German soccer giants Bayern Munich. That five-year deal, signed in 2023, sees the club display Visit Rwanda branding on its LED pitch-side hoarding during matchdays at its home, the Allianz Arena.
The renewal with PSG comes as the state of Rwanda has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years for alleged human rights abuses perpetrated by the country’s government.
In 2022, a report by international NGO Human Rights Watch said: “The ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front continued to stifle dissenting and critical voices and to target those perceived as a threat to the government and their family members. The space for political opposition, civil society, and media remained closed.”
Rwanda’s sporting sponsorships have been criticized for several years due to accusations that the ruling government is using them to sportswash its alleged rights violations.
Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and PSG have recently all been publicly urged to end their partnerships with the Rwanda Development Board by human rights groups, with Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, writing to Arsenal urging them to end their agreement in February after an invasion of DRC territory involving Rwanda-backed rebels M23.
For a more detailed analysis on sponsorship by tourism boards, please read the GlobalData Sports Sponsorship Sector Report – Travel & Tourism – Tourist Boards 2025.
