{"id":487968,"date":"2026-07-15T12:21:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/?p=487968"},"modified":"2026-07-15T12:21:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:21:33","slug":"aston-villa-visit-rwanda-shirt-principal-sponsorship-july-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/news\/sponsorship-marketing\/aston-villa-visit-rwanda-shirt-principal-sponsorship-july-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Aston Villa sign \u2018UK\u00a320m-a-year\u2019 Visit Rwanda shirt sponsorship despite sportswashing concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Partnership described as most lucrative in club history<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Visit Rwanda\u2019s sleeve sponsorship with Arsenal ended this year<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Amnesty International says Rwanda is using new deal for \u201csportswashing\u201d purposes<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Aston Villa have signed up Visit Rwanda as their new main sponsor, with the partnership considered the most lucrative deal in the club\u2019s history.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Visit Rwanda\u2019s branding will appear on the front of all men\u2019s, women\u2019s, and academy teams\u2019 shirts as part of the deal. The east African country\u2019s tourism board will replace Betano, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/news\/aston-villa-betano-front-of-shirt-partner-premier-league\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">had been<\/a> Villa\u2019s principal partner since 2024 as part of a reported UK\u00a340 million (US$53.5 million) deal.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7434810\/2026\/07\/14\/aston-villa-visit-rwanda-sponsorship-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Athletic<\/a>, the new deal is worth up to UK\u00a320 million (US$26.7 million) each year if bonuses are met.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a very exciting partnership for Aston Villa Football Club and a symbol of the club\u2019s continuing expansion and growth into international markets,\u201d said Francesco Calvo, Aston Villa president of business operations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a great range and depth of opportunities for collaboration, learning and innovation and we are looking forward to working with Visit Rwanda to deliver meaningful activations through tourism, investment and sporting development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe look forward to working with Aston Villa to expand our reach to new audiences in the UK, across Europe and beyond,\u201d added Janet Karemera, chief executive of Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough this partnership, we aim to deepen the connection with those already considering travel to Rwanda, whether for tourism, investment or business events, all while contributing to the long-term growth and development of the football ecosystem in Rwanda.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<style>#related-block_122ba09b8ddd716ba8f64aefff42c910{background:rgba(255,255,255,1)!important;border-top: solid 2px rgba(252,210,15,1)!important;border-bottom: solid 2px rgba(252,210,15,1)!important;}<\/style><div id=\"related-block_122ba09b8ddd716ba8f64aefff42c910\" class=\"related-block\">\n            <div class=\"row no-gutters\">\n                            <div class=\"col-12\">\n                    <div class=\"header\">\n                        <h4>RELATED POSTS<\/h4>                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"col-12\">\n                    <div class=\"row inner-content\">\n                                                    <div class=\"col-sm-6 related-item\">\n                                <div class=\"row no-gutters\">\n                                                                            <div class=\"col-3\">\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/news\/sponsorship-marketing\/arsenal-deel-shirt-sleeve-sponsorship-visit-rwanda-may-2026\/\" title=\"Arsenal swaps Visit Rwanda for Deel in new sleeve partnership\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Bukayo-Saka-Arsenal-Premier-League-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Bukayo-Saka-Arsenal-Premier-League-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Bukayo-Saka-Arsenal-Premier-League-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n                                        <\/div>\n                                                                        <div class=\"col-9\">\n                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/news\/sponsorship-marketing\/arsenal-deel-shirt-sleeve-sponsorship-visit-rwanda-may-2026\/\" title=\"Arsenal swaps Visit Rwanda for Deel in new sleeve partnership\">\n                                            <h5>Arsenal swaps Visit Rwanda for Deel in new sleeve partnership<\/h5><\/a>\n                                    <\/div>\n                                <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"col-sm-6 related-item\">\n                                <div class=\"row no-gutters\">\n                                                                            <div class=\"col-3\">\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/analysis\/sponsorship-marketing\/premier-league-betting-shirt-sponsorship-ban-categories-value-april-2026\/\" title=\"Crisis or opportunity? How the Premier League betting ban is resetting the shirt sponsorship market\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-WP-News-story-template-2026-04-23T162138.142-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-WP-News-story-template-2026-04-23T162138.142-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-WP-News-story-template-2026-04-23T162138.142-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n                                        <\/div>\n                                                                        <div class=\"col-9\">\n                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/analysis\/sponsorship-marketing\/premier-league-betting-shirt-sponsorship-ban-categories-value-april-2026\/\" title=\"Crisis or opportunity? How the Premier League betting ban is resetting the shirt sponsorship market\">\n                                            <h5>Crisis or opportunity? How the Premier League betting ban is resetting the shirt sponsorship market<\/h5><\/a>\n                                    <\/div>\n                                <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"col-sm-6 related-item\">\n                                <div class=\"row no-gutters\">\n                                                                            <div class=\"col-3\">\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/analysis\/finance-investment\/premier-league-club-finances-2024-25-profit-losses-revenue-chelsea\/\" title=\"Ranking every Premier League club\u2019s 2024\/25 financial performance\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-WP-News-story-template-2026-04-20T172718.408-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-WP-News-story-template-2026-04-20T172718.408-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-WP-News-story-template-2026-04-20T172718.408-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n                                        <\/div>\n                                                                        <div class=\"col-9\">\n                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/analysis\/finance-investment\/premier-league-club-finances-2024-25-profit-losses-revenue-chelsea\/\" title=\"Ranking every Premier League club\u2019s 2024\/25 financial performance\">\n                                            <h5>Ranking every Premier League club\u2019s 2024\/25 financial performance<\/h5><\/a>\n                                    <\/div>\n                                <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"col-sm-6 related-item\">\n                                <div class=\"row no-gutters\">\n                                                                            <div class=\"col-3\">\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/news\/chelsea-aston-villa-uefa-ffp-fines-july-2025\/\" title=\"Chelsea\u00a0and Aston\u00a0Villa\u00a0fined \u20ac31m and \u20ac11m for Uefa financial breaches\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Chelsea-Nicolas-Jackson-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Chelsea-Nicolas-Jackson-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Chelsea-Nicolas-Jackson-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n                                        <\/div>\n                                                                        <div class=\"col-9\">\n                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/news\/chelsea-aston-villa-uefa-ffp-fines-july-2025\/\" title=\"Chelsea\u00a0and Aston\u00a0Villa\u00a0fined \u20ac31m and \u20ac11m for Uefa financial breaches\">\n                                            <h5>Chelsea\u00a0and Aston\u00a0Villa\u00a0fined \u20ac31m and \u20ac11m for Uefa financial breaches<\/h5><\/a>\n                                    <\/div>\n                                <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                                                                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p>Visit Rwanda previously served as Arsenal\u2019s sleeve sponsor for seven years. The deal with the Gunners, which ended this summer, was reportedly worth UK\u00a310 million (US$13.4 million) per year. Software firm Deel has been confirmed as the club\u2019s new sleeve sponsor.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal\u2019s partnership with Visit Rwanda had been controversial due to concerns over Rwanda\u2019s human rights record. It was the subject of protests from the Gunners for Peace campaign group after the United Nations (UN) linked Rwanda to supporting M23 rebels, who captured parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).<\/p>\n<p>The DRC\u2019s foreign minister Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Kayikwamba Wagner even wrote to Arsenal urging the club to terminate \u2018blood-stained sponsorship deals\u2019 with the tourism body, which also has partnerships with Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Rams.<\/p>\n<p>Amnesty International has already raised concerns about Villa\u2019s new partnership, with a representative noting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/football\/articles\/cm20211g25lo\">BBC Sport<\/a> that Rwanda is \u201cusing sportswashing\u201d and is \u201cseeking to leverage this partnership to create positive PR\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>However, the decision to sign with Visit Rwanda may is indicative of Villa\u2019s need to raise revenues to balance investment in their playing squad and to stave off financial sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>The West Midlands team declared UK\u00a3378.07 million (US$506.3 million) in revenue for the 2024\/25 campaign, which additionally included a 31 per cent increase in sponsorship earnings to UK\u00a328.6 million (US$38.3 million). Their financial position was strengthened by the decision to sell their women\u2019s team and \u2018The Warehouse\u2019 multi-use venue to a subsidiary company.<\/p>\n<p>This summer, Villa were one of 11 Premier League clubs in search of a new main sponsor, with the league banning betting companies from displaying logos on the front of jerseys from next season onwards.<\/p>\n<p>The rule change cuts off a lucrative revenue stream for many teams outside the so-called \u2018Big Six\u2019, who are looking for companies in alternative sectors to fill the void. It has created a buyers\u2019 market that is expected to reset how much clubs will generate from their front-of-shirt asset.<\/p>\n<p>Other Premier League clubs to have sourced a replacement for their betting front-of-shirt partnerships include Crystal Palace, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/news\/sponsorship-marketing\/crystal-palace-ai-sector-shirt-sponsor-betting-ban\/\">signed a deal<\/a> with AI software firm Temporal, and Everton, which confirmed CMC Markets as their new shirt partner.<\/p>\n<p>Brentford and Bournemouth have additionally expanded their respective partnerships with Indeed and Vitality respectively for next season.<\/p>\n<p>Aston Villa did not respond to SportsPro\u2019s requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/commercial-guide\/premier-league\/overview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-461774\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1-300x90.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1-768x230.png 768w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1-100x30.png 100w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1-150x45.png 150w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1-422x127.png 422w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1-360x108.png 360w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1-440x132.png 440w, https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SP_25_Commercial_Guide_K_Premier_League_v12-1-900x270.png 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em><span data-teams=\"true\"><strong>Combining richer content, in-depth data and exclusive community benefits, SportsPro+ is your VIP pass into the global sports industry<\/strong><i><strong>. <\/strong><\/i><a id=\"menurd9r\" class=\"fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn\" title=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/subscribe\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/subscribe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Link Discover more here\"><i><strong>Discover more here<\/strong><\/i><\/a><i><strong>.<\/strong><\/i><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Villa sign controversial deal as betting sponsor ban and new financial rules come into force. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10132,"featured_media":487971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_daextamp_enable_autolinks":"1","allowed_autolinks":[],"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[504,3,516],"tags":[2823,8848,598,6324],"location":[76,73],"sportscategory":[2323,2306],"wallkit-gate":[],"content_type":[10458],"class_list":["post-487968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-sponsorship","category-sponsorship-marketing","tag-aston-villa","tag-aston-villa-fc","tag-premier-league","tag-visit-rwanda","location-africa","location-europe","sportscategory-football","sportscategory-soccer","content_type-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487968"}],"version-history":[{"count":"2","href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":487979,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487968\/revisions\/487979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487968"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=487968"},{"taxonomy":"sportscategory","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sportscategory?post=487968"},{"taxonomy":"wallkit-gate","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wallkit-gate?post=487968"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=487968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}