Arsenal urged to put Visit Rwanda 'financial gains' aside

A number of Arsenal fans campaigning for the Premier League side not to renew its sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda have called on the Gunners' board to "put financial gains aside".

The Gunners for Peace group are suggesting that Tottenham, home to the club's arch-rivals, would be a preferable sleeve sponsor to Rwanda.

The African nation's partnerships with Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain have come under the spotlight after increased violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where authorities say 7,000 people have been killed since January.

The Congolese government accuses Rwanda of arming M23 rebels and sending troops to the militants. Despite assertions from both the United Nations and United States, Rwanda has denied ing the M23.

"In Congo, or amongst the Congolese community, they are ripping or cutting off the Visit Rwanda part of the Arsenal shirt," campaigner Joe Mbu, who was born in DR Congo, told BBC Sport Africa.

Fellow Congolese Tresor Kudabika, who has modified his own kit to bear his nation's flag on the sleeve, agrees the links to Rwanda are hurting the team's popularity.

"We had the (Uefa Champions League) quarter-final against Real Madrid. The whole country in Congo was ing Real," he said.

Gunners for Peace say that, after recent polling, six in 10 Arsenal fans ending the Visit Rwanda deal.

Visit Rwanda's sleeve partnership with Arsenal began in 2018, and the current deal - which campaigners believe runs out at the end of this season - is reportedly worth more than £10m ($13.3m) per year.

Last week French club PSG, who face the Gunners in the semi-finals of the Champions League, renewed their partnership with Visit Rwanda until 2028.

That decision came despite an online petition calling on PSG to terminate the deal garnering 75,000 signatures.

Mbu and his fellow campaigners remain hopeful the north London outfit will not follow suit.

"I believe that they can do the right thing. The good thing about it is that we have been in communication with representatives from Arsenal," Mbu said.

"At what point do we look at putting financial gains aside and look at the humanity of it?

"For Arsenal to continue with the sponsorship would be a great shame."

Arsenal said the club will not be commenting on the Gunners for Peace campaign, while a Rwanda government spokesperson defended their sports partnerships and said they helped boost the country's economy.

Meanwhile, the secretary general of the Arsenal Rwanda ers Club told BBC Sport Africa that assertions the broader fanbase were split over the deal "over-state the scale of dissent".

Rwanda recently hosted a fan festival, external for the continent, bringing together ers from over 10 countries.

"The festival showcased strong pan-African backing for the team and for the Visit Rwanda collaboration," Arsenal Rwanda's Olivier Nemeye said.

"Political grievances are properly addressed in diplomatic or multilateral forums (such as the African Union or UN), not via football sponsorships."