Rwanda has signed a five-year football development and tourism promotion partnership a German football club, Bayern Munich.
The partnership, unveiled during FC Bayern’s first home game of the season, will see the club work specifically with Rwanda’s Ministry of Sports to set up a football academy to strengthen the development of football in the country.
This five-year deal will run until the summer of 2028.
The club will also display Visit Rwanda branding on match-day LED boards at the club’s 75,000-seater Allianz Arena and different activities will be organised to promote tourism and investment opportunities in Rwanda.
Jan-Christian Dreesen, FC Bayern Chief Executive Officer, said FC Bayern can become active on the African continent and gather important experiences.
He added that the new platinum partnership is aligned with long-term goals.
“We will promote ‘Visit Rwanda’ and help Rwanda grow in sports with projects for youth football. These are challenging and responsible tasks. Africa is a continent of opportunities. For FC Bayern, this is the next important step in internationalisation.”
Andreas Jung, FC Bayern Executive Board Member Marketing, said that he is looking forward to this new, very exciting collaboration.
“We will support the Rwandan Ministry of Sports in developing youth football programs, including our FC Bayern Youth Cup. We want to spread ‘Visit Rwanda’ as a tourism destination, and we also welcome the new partner to our business network.”
Unlike the Visit Rwanda Arsenal deal, the Bayern Munich Visit Rwanda deal will probably not include the sleeve sponsorship. Bayern have been without a sleeve sponsor since Qatar Airways did not extend their partnership.
Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju, Rwanda’s Sports Minister said this partnership with FC Bayern will support the development of youth football for boys and girls in Rwanda.
“We look forward to setting up the FC Bayern Academy where their expert coaches will share knowledge of the game with local coaches and players. The potential is there for Rwandans to excel in football and this partnership provides a great platform for Rwanda to strive for excellence in sports.”
Rwanda Development Board (RDB) will foot the bill. Clare Akamanzi, the CEO of RDB decline to revel the amount in the contract. She said it is confidential.
Meanwhile, she said it’s been five outstanding years since the Government of Rwanda announced the Visit Rwanda campaign and adding FC Bayern as another additional partner allows us to reach out to its millions of fans across the globe and tell them to visit Rwanda.
“Germany is among Rwanda’s top five tourism source markets and we aim to use this partnership to attract more tourists to Rwanda, showcase investment and business opportunities and encourage all to stay in Rwanda.”
