President Kagame stated that Rwanda’s decision to suspend its partnership with Arsenal through Visit Rwanda is not related to the Democratic Republic of Congo, as there were disagreements in the collaboration.
He emphasized this during a media briefing on Thursday, November 27, 2025.
The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) recently announced that by mutual agreement, the contract it had with Arsenal via Visit Rwanda will end in June 2026.
RDB explained that this decision was made as part of its strategy to expand its activities, primarily focused on international sports partnerships and investment opportunities.
Addressing the link between the suspension of the partnership and the issue with the DRC, President Kagame described it as a misunderstanding, stating that both parties were in business and that when one side has disagreements, it seeks other partners.
President Kagame said that “Eight years is not a short time, I believe. We still have other teams like Atletico Madrid, and that shouldn’t be a problem. But for me, I will continue to be a fan of Arsenal. Whenever I have time, I will go watch the matches.”
“However, the partnership we had for eight years was a business collaboration. Such partnerships can be revised anytime. It can be updated in one year or two.” He added.
President Kagame indicated that when one party wants to end the partnership, it often seeks another partner.
He referenced how some linked this issue to the DRC’s requests for sanctions against Rwanda and the demand to stop the partnership.
He stated, “You remember that the DRC has often gone to the UK, telling Arsenal, ‘don’t do this, do this,’ making requests since the beginning of this issue (the disagreements between the two countries), and repeating this many times.
“They also approached PSG, not only Arsenal. But it never came to fruition. They understand, the collaboration continues. We have also had other partners including Atletico Madrid that joined later.”
President Kagame mentioned that the DRC seems to have aimed to undermine Rwanda’s partnerships with less favored European teams, opting to start collaborating with other teams.
He said, “If this partnership is not yielding results, we can work with other partners because it’s business.”
In May 2018, it was announced that the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) entered into a partnership with Arsenal of the Premier League, with Rwanda becoming the main sponsor on the players’ sleeves, where the ‘Visit Rwanda’ branding appeared on the left arm of both the senior and women’s teams, as well as the youth team.
This agreement was to be effective from the 2018/19 season, starting in August 2018, and was set to conclude at the end of the 2020/21 season, which ended in May 2021.
On August 18 of that year, RDB announced that after three years of collaboration that yielded results, in 2019, both parties agreed to extend the duration of the contract.
This came after Rwanda’s tourism revenue increased by 17%, reaching $498 million in 2019, up from $425 million in 2018.
