Rwanda has defended its sports sponsorship deal with Arsenal FC which will see the English club wear shirts with sponsored ads of ‘Visit Rwanda’ on the sleeves aimed at boosting tourism revenues.

The sponsorship deal which was announced last week has divided opinion in foreign press with some   politicians in donor countries including the United Kingdom and the Netherlands raising concern about the move.

Opponents of the partnership are wondering why the country still grappling with high levels of poverty would sponsor an English club instead of investing the money in poverty reduction programmes.

The three-year deal reported to be worth about £30 million has attracted the ire of opposition Members of Parliament in the Netherlands and government critics in the UK who are demanding their respective governments to revisit development support to Rwanda.

Rwanda Development Board (RDB) however has brushed off the criticism saying that the money spent on the sponsorship is solely from the country’s tourism earnings and it is expected to bring returns with the ‘Visit Rwanda’ campaign attracted more visitors to Rwanda.

Rwanda’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs Olivier Nduhungirehe and RDB Chief Executive Officer, Clare Akamanzi say critics of the deal have disregarded the context and facts because Rwanda is not spending any donor money on the deal.

“Anyone who criticizes our deal with Arsenal on account of Rwanda being poor or an aid recipient, either wishes for Rwanda to be perpetually so, or doesn’t understand that in any business, marketing costs are a key component of a company’s expenditures,” Akamanzi said in a tweet.

“The Rwanda Development Board generates revenues from sale of tourism products, from which it uses a portion to market its products for further growth. The Arsenal deal falls within this arrangement, just like our tourism exhibitions, sales consultancies,” she added.

She said that Rwanda intends to double its tourism earnings from $400m to $800m and to achieve that, prior investment is required.

“Our national goal is to double tourism revenues to $800m by 2024, from $404 million currently. This won’t happen by sitting and waiting, but by being proactive, and marketing Rwanda as a tourist destination in innovative ways. Now- Relax and let the world Visit Rwanda,” Akamanzi added defiantly.

“For those asking if tourism promotion funds should have been used for water or electricity let me break it down for you: Infrastructure is imported. Tourism is our #1 forex earner. The more Rwanda earns from tourism, the more we can invest in our people. That's the connection,” Akamanzi said on Twitter.

The deal has attracted more virulent criticism in the UK, with British tabloid Daily Mail publishing an article titled “Shirt of shame”, accusing the UK of dishing out £62million in foreign aid to Rwanda, which President Paul Kagame, a renowned Arsenal fan, used to sponsor his ‘favourite club’.

The paper quotes Ian Birrell, a renowned critic of President Kagame, who said that the deal makes a mockery of British fair play, and Tory MP Andrew Bridgen who also described the deal as 'an own goal for foreign aid'.

The Department for International Development (DFID), UK’s development agency issued a statement on Sunday saying that the Mail article which implied that UK aid to Rwanda is being used to fund a £30 million sponsorship deal with Arsenal FC is misleading.

“UK aid to Rwanda has been carefully and specifically earmarked for programmes that will support the country’s most vulnerable people and help it stand on its own two feet,”

“UK aid is not used for sponsorship deals with Arsenal FC and DFID is not giving any money to Visit Rwanda or the Rwanda Development Board,” DFID said in a statement.

Budget increment

Rwanda plans to increase its budgetary spending to $2.81bn in the 2018/19 fiscal year compared to $2.58bn the country spent in the 2017/18 financial year. 16 per cent of the money is expected to come from donors.

“All UK aid to Rwanda is earmarked for specific programmes only, such as education and agriculture, and we track results to ensure value for money for UK taxpayers,” DFID said in a statement.

In Netherlands, Dutch MPs have asked International Development Minister Sigrid Kaag to look into the recent sponsorship deal which will see the London-based football club participate in a number of activities to promote tourism in Rwanda.

Dutch newspapers reported that in particular, legislators want to know why Rwanda which receives a lot of aid from the Netherlands is able to invest €30m in sponsoring Arsenal’s shirts sleeves yet it still benefits from Dutch aid.

MPs from the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy said “it is disheartening to see such payments being made, while the international community is trying to tackle the poverty” in Rwanda.