Today 23rd May 2018, Arsenal announced that they had signed a marketing deal to have Visit Rwanda on the sleeve of the Arsenal jersey. The actual amount that this deal will cost Rwanda is still not clear but rumoured to be about $ 10 million annually.
The initial reaction from Arsenal fans on Twitter has been horrible characterised by words like disgusting, classless and cheap. This is not exactly what the Arsenal board had envisaged and it’s bound to get worse.
Rwanda will get huge exposure but at the cost of more scrutiny to their human rights record with questions being asked about arrests, disappearances and murders of political opponents.
Either way both Rwanda and Arsenal don’t seem to have done their homework well on this deal. For $ 10 million Arsenal football club’s image will now be associated with a murderous regime at a time when it’s not doing well on the pitch while Rwanda government will face more scrutiny to its terrible human rights record.
We’ll have a sleeve sponsor on our shirts from 2018/19 – we’re pleased to welcome our Official Tourism Partner, @visitrwanda_nowhttps://t.co/ruBw2nzLqR pic.twitter.com/wEOUeGsCNy
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 23, 2018
that new home shirt . . . . pic.twitter.com/4Rx8jaJ7TZ
— Andy Rayfield (@AndyRayfield) May 23, 2018
This kit makes me want to vommit.
— GarethArsenal (@COYG316) May 23, 2018
Guys ,guys…. What the hell is this???? I hope they are paying us a lot of £££. This kit looks even more disgusting now….
— Aubamesque (@SenorTactico) May 23, 2018
You basically sacrificed the class of a Arsenal shirt for sponsorship. Looks awful & cheap & very classless
— AFC GLEN (@AFC_GLEN) May 23, 2018