Rwanda gets £64m UK aid and gives £30m to Arsenal
AN AFRICAN country which gets £64million in aid from Britain is spending £30million on a sponsorship deal with Arsenal FC, it has been revealed.
Rwanda will pay the wealthy London club £10million a year for three years to have “Visit Rwanda” displayed on players’ sleeves and pitch-side advertising screens.
Critics of Rwanda’s president and Arsenal fan Paul Kagame believe he is behind the deal, which includes hospitality at the Emirates Stadium, match tickets and access to players for promotional work.
Last year Britain gave £27million to the Rwandan government for poverty relief as well as £37million for aid programmes. It is one of the world’s poorest nations and suffered civil war and brutal genocide in the 1990s. News of the Arsenal deal sparked anger yesterday. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: “British taxpayers will be rightly shocked to learn that a country supported by huge handouts from the UK is in turn pumping millions into a fabulously rich football club in London. If this isn’t a perfect own goal for foreign aid, I don’t know what is.”
Rwandan human rights campaigner Rene Mugenzi, who lives in London fearing reprisals from Kagame’s henchmen, said Arsenal should scrap the “obscene” deal. He added: “Britain should stop giving money to Rwanda because it just frees up their government to spend money on crazy things like this.” But the Department for International Development insisted: “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.
“We are helping Rwanda to stand on its own two feet, building education systems and supporting increased trade and investment.”
The Rwanda Development Board said the Arsenal deal was part of a plan to double tourism – its largest source of foreign exchange.
It has already created 90,000 jobs. A spokesman said its goal would only be met by marketing the country “in innovative ways”.
Arsenal said the deal “will help Rwanda meet tourism goals and develop football in the country”.