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Visit Rwanda have kept their presence in the Premier League by agreeing to become the front-of-shirt partner to Aston Villa.
The Paul Kagame-linked tourism board concluded a sleeve deal with Arsenal last season after mounting pressure from fans but have now signed a £20m-a-year deal with, according to The Athletic.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa will don the Visit Rwanda-branded claret and blue shirts on their return to the Champions League. They join Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in the tourist board’s sporting portfolio.
The new deal comes amid a voluntary ban by Premier League clubs on having betting and casino brands on the prime advertising slot on shirts. There are five clubs yet to fill their vacancy, including struggling Chelsea and Europa League qualifiers Sunderland.
Aston Villa deal done
Aston Villa remain on a mission to increase revenues with incoming squad cost ratio rules set to put restrictions on spending. They signed a training kit deal with Egyptian hotel chain El Gouna Red Sea, owned by the brother of Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris, earlier this year and are reportedly seeking deals for the naming rights to their Villa Park stadium and Bodymoor Heath training ground.
Visit Rwanda’s previous deal with Arsenal ran for nearly a decade and was reportedly worth £10m per season in its latter seasons.
The Gunners have replaced the tourism board as sleeve sponsor of the Premier League champions with HR company Deel.
The gambling ban has seen a number of clubs take reduced sponsorship deals to maintain a brand on the front of their shirts. And some clubs – such as Brentford and Bournemouth – upgraded existing deals – job site Indeed and health firm Vitality – rather than pursue a market which could leave some clubs starting the next season without a sponsorship deal.
Aston Villa’s current sporting portfolio includes Adidas, Sports Illustrated Tickets and Guinness.
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