Bayern Munich make major change to shine light on controversial £30m Arsenal deal….
German champions Bayern Munich have taken steps to remove the visibility of their partnership with Visit Rwanda, months after Arsenal fans had protested about the Gunners’ own deal with the tourism organisation.
The African country’s tourism board has embarked on a significant marketing campaign involving football in recent years, having started its partnership with Arsenal in 2018, with other deals following with both Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain.
But the deals have come back into sharp focus for some fan groups following increased violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where authorities say 7,000 people have been killed since January. Rwanda have been accused by the Congolese of arming M23 rebels and sending troops to support the militants, something that Rwanda has denied despite assertions to the contrary by both the United Nations and United States.
Earlier this season a section of the Arsenal fan base created ‘Gunners for Peace’, a group that called on the Gunners not to renew the deal that it has with Visit Rwanda, which is worth a reported £10million per year, with armbands distributed outside the Emirates ahead of the Champions League semi-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain back in April.
