Congo Asks Arsenal, Bayern, PSG to End Rwanda Sponsorship Deals
- ‘Visit Rwanda’ logo is embossed on gear of football clubs
- M23 rebels are expanding control after seizing key Congo city
The Visit Rwanda logo on a sleeve of a match shirt in the Arsenal dressing room prior to the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on Dec. 21, 2024.
Photographer: Stuart MacFarlane/Getty ImagesThe Democratic Republic of Congo has asked the football clubs Arsenal FC, Paris Saint-Germain, and FC Bayern Munich to end sponsorship deals with the “Visit Rwanda” tourism campaign as threats of a full-scale war escalate between the neighbors.
Rwandan troops helped the M23 rebel movement take the strategic city of Goma in eastern Congo last week and are expanding territory under their control, according to United Nations officials. More than 700 people have died and 2,800 were injured in the latest uptick of a conflict that’s displaced millions of people over the past three years. Rwandan President Paul Kagame denies any involvement.