The 2026-27 football season is underway, with domestic leagues already in action across Europe and Rwanda’s football partners beginning their campaigns.
Paris Saint-Germain in France, Bayern Munich in Germany, Atlético Madrid in Spain and Aston Villa in England have all started their respective seasons, with each club facing different expectations at home and in Europe.
Here is what to expect from the four clubs during the 2026-27 campaign.
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is the longest-standing football club partnership in Rwanda’s current portfolio. The relationship began in 2019, following Rwanda’s partnership with the French giants.
PSG has established itself as the dominant force in French football while also making significant progress in Europe. The club won the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup in the previous two seasons.
Its start to the new campaign, however, has been less convincing.
After beating Aston Villa 2-1 to win the UEFA Super Cup, PSG lost the Trophée des Champions to Lens by a 1-0 scoreline.
Luis Enrique’s side has also struggled in Ligue 1, drawing two of its opening three matches and losing the other.
Despite the slow start, PSG remains one of the favourites for the French title. It has won Ligue 1 five consecutive times and 14 times overall, the most in the competition’s history.
The club will also be among the teams expected to challenge for the Champions League. Its league-phase opponents include Slovan Bratislava, Manchester City, Barcelona, Villarreal, Roma, Aston Villa, Como and Galatasaray.
PSG strengthened its squad during the summer, bringing in Maghnes Akliouche from Monaco, Ferran Torres from Barcelona, Mika Godts from Ajax, Lucas Digne from Aston Villa and Alessandro Longoni from AC Milan on loan.
The club also lost several players, including Bradley Barcola to Liverpool, Gonçalo Ramos to AC Milan, Ibrahim Mbaye to Aston Villa and Lee Kang-In to Atlético Madrid.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich began its relationship with Visit Rwanda in 2023. Although the club ended the commercial partnership in 2025, the two sides retained their cooperation in youth football development.
Bayern has established a youth academy in Rwanda as part of those efforts, giving young players an opportunity to train and compete under the club’s development system.
On the pitch, Bayern has made a stronger start than PSG.
Vincent Kompany’s side won the DFL-Super Cup after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 and has won two of its opening three Bundesliga matches, drawing the other.
With 34 Bundesliga titles, Bayern remains Germany’s most successful club and one of the leading contenders for European honours.
The club reached the Champions League semi-finals last season before losing to PSG, who went on to win the competition.
Bayern’s league-phase opponents this season include Bodø/Glimt, Viking FK, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Lille, Slavia Prague, Manchester United and Real Betis.
The German champions have added Ismael Saibari from PSV Eindhoven, Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt and Bara Sapoko Ndiaye from Gambinos Stars.
Leon Goretzka and Raphaël Guerreiro left after their contracts expired, while Nicolas Jackson returned to Chelsea following the end of his loan spell.
Atlético Madrid
Atlético Madrid joined the Visit Rwanda partnership portfolio in 2025.
The relationship has also brought club officials closer to Rwanda. Atlético CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín recently visited the country for the Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony, where he named a gorilla Inkera.
Atlético finished fourth in La Liga last season and reached the Champions League semi-finals.
The club has not started the new campaign consistently, winning two, drawing one and losing one of its opening four league matches.
Diego Simeone’s side has strengthened significantly during the summer in an effort to challenge for major honours.
New arrivals include Cristian Romero, formerly Tottenham Hotspur’s captain, Lee Kang-In from PSG, Morten Hjulmand from Sporting CP, Alex Grimaldo from Bayer Leverkusen and Jonathan David, who joined on loan from Juventus.
Atlético’s Champions League campaign will include matches against Liverpool, Manchester United, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, Viking FK, PSV Eindhoven, Bodø/Glimt and Fenerbahçe.
The club’s last La Liga title came in 2021, making another serious challenge for domestic honours one of its key objectives this season.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa is the newest of the four clubs to enter a partnership with Visit Rwanda and is the only one currently displaying the Visit Rwanda logo on the front of its shirt.
The English club won the UEFA Europa League last season but has endured a difficult start to the new campaign.
Unai Emery’s side lost the UEFA Super Cup to PSG before suffering a 4-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in its opening Premier League match.
Villa then lost 1-0 to Arsenal before drawing 0-0 with newly promoted Hull City.
The team has therefore failed to score in its opening three league matches and has conceded five goals.
The club was nevertheless active in the summer transfer market, signing a number of high-profile players.
Among the arrivals are Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea, Ibrahim Mbaye from PSG, goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Parma, Johan Manzambi from Freiburg, Leon Goretzka from Bayern Munich, João Gomes from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aaron Wan-Bissaka from West Ham United, Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea and Matteo Ruggeri from Atlético Madrid.
Villa also lost several established players, including Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne, Ezri Konsa and Leon Bailey.
In the Champions League, Villa will face Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe, Viking FK, Barcelona, Galatasaray, PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Slavia Prague.
Another season of high expectations
Although some of Rwanda’s partner clubs have made difficult starts, the season is still in its early stages and all four have the quality and resources to challenge for major honours.
PSG will be expected to maintain its dominance in France and compete for another Champions League title. Bayern will be looking to retain its Bundesliga crown and make another deep European run.
Atlético will hope its summer recruitment can translate into trophies, while Aston Villa faces the immediate task of recovering from its difficult start and finding cohesion within a significantly reshaped squad.
The four clubs enjoyed considerable success during the 2025-26 season, collectively winning nine trophies.
PSG claimed four — Ligue 1, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
Bayern won three, including the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup.
The new season therefore comes with both sporting and promotional stakes for Rwanda. As the clubs compete across Europe’s biggest competitions, their performances will once again provide a global platform for the Visit Rwanda brand.
For now, the season is only beginning. The coming months will show which of Rwanda’s football partnerships can produce another year of trophies, strong performances and international visibility.
