Rwanda’s sponsorships of European mega football clubs Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), have returned “impressive dividends for local tourism”, according to the country’s President, Paul Kagame.

The East African country, through its Visit Rwanda marketing campaign, has been a shirt sponsor for English Premier League side Arsenal since 2018, and of French giants PSG since 2020.

Speaking at a press conference in Rwanda last week, Kagame hinted that the country could soon partner with a third “famous football club”, citing the success of the current sponsorship deals.

“Both have returned impressive dividends through the Visit Rwanda campaign. The return is assessed through several metrics, including calculating the number of people who visit Rwanda, getting to know the country, and investing in Rwanda, all based on the partnerships,” said Kagame, who did not make clear what the return on investment was, nor which club the country was seeking to partner with. 

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) renewed its three-year sponsorship of Arsenal (at a cost of £40 million) at the start of 2021. At the time, RDB said that by the end of the first year of the initial sponsorship, tourism revenue had increased by 17%, from US$425m in 2018 to $498m in 2019, with strong gains made in the UK market.

“The renewed partnership will build on the gains made over the last three years and contribute towards Rwanda’s economic recovery strategy following the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the tourism sector,” the RDB said in its announcement of the renewal.

Kagame asserted that, with the deals, the country was not wasting resources that could be better spent elsewhere.     

“We know what we are pursuing, and that’s not to lose money.”