Rwanda has been criticized for signing partnerships with prominent European football clubs to promote its tourism sector and football.

The allegations are that the east African country is doing ‘sportswashing’. Sportswashing is a term used to describe the practice of individuals, corporations, or governments using sports to improve reputations tarnished by wrongdoing.

By accusing Rwanda of sportswashing, the commentators from the West are covering a hidden agenda – especially when they deliberately ignore the fact that Rwanda is banking on sports playing a positive role in its ambitious development plans.

Sports play a large role in Western economies – larger than many people would think. Sports contribute billions of dollars every year to Western economies. In 2018 alone, sports contributed $71 billion GDP to the US economy while outdoor recreation accounted for $427 billion.

With an estimated 3.5 billion fans worldwide, soccer, or football, dominates in Europe. In 2020, a European Union study showed that sports accounted for 2.12 per cent of GDP, and amounts to €279.7 billion, with almost 3 per cent of employment coming from sports.

Available data shows that sports contributes 2.6 per cent to France’s GDP, equal to €64 billion. Sports and physical activity contributes £39 billion to the UK’s economy.

The government of Rwanda agreed with English Premier League club Arsenal (2018), French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (2019), and German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich (2023) to brand Visit Rwanda on their kits and stadiums.

The country’s tourism marketing strategy through its Visit Rwanda initiative helped to generate $445 million in tourism revenues courtesy of the over one million visitors to Rwanda in 2022.

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“The impact of these collaborations is already being felt, as Rwanda is evolving as a destination for global competition, from triathlon to beach volleyball to cycling,” said Rwanda Development Board CEO Clare Akamanzi.

Like in any other country, the tourism sector employs thousands of Rwandans and the revenues accrued allows Rwanda to boost its economy and develop its infrastructure, among others.

Through Rwanda’s tourism revenue share scheme, communities neighboring the country’s national parks receive 10 per cent of the revenues generated by the parks to improve their livelihoods.

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Despite the remarkable outcomes of the partnerships, Rwanda’s detractors allege that what Rwanda is doing is sportswashing, aimed at ‘masking’ supposed human rights abuses.

If what Rwanda is doing is sportswashing, though it is not, it should do more of it as Rwandans are benefiting more from it.

Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen denied the accusation of facilitating sportswashing to deflect attention from the alleged rights abuses. But Rwanda’s detractors won’t listen. So, why should Rwandans pay attention to them?

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"I don't see what we're doing in Rwanda here as sportswashing," Dreesen said, adding that the team has made it clear that what it wants is to support the development of soccer.

"It's clear, as stated also from Rwanda's side, that they want to promote the issue of tourism in Rwanda,” he explained.

The German club is part of a program to support youth soccer in Rwanda, and the country’s wish to attract more tourists.

"We want to be part of the development of Rwanda and be more involved in Africa, which we see as a continent of opportunities," Dreesen concluded.

Since the beginning of the partnerships with the European clubs, the big ‘Visit Rwanda’ logo is hard to miss at the Parc des Princes, the Emirates, and Allianz Arena stadiums on match days. It also appears on men’s teams’ training and warm-up kits.

On top of that, the clubs’ fans are enjoying Rwandan tea and coffee, served exclusively at the stadiums.

The PSG Academy Rwanda opened its doors in Huye district in 2020, offering 100 per cent PSG training sessions to more than 100 children, some of them beneficiaries of the club’s Foundation.

Coaches from Arsenal are working with Rwandan coaches to support development of the country’s football program.

Sports is a half a trillion-dollar industry and, with smart and deliberate planning, Rwandans are benefiting from it. Rwanda’s partnership with Arsenal and PSG generated over $160 million in 2022 in media value.

This, in turn, helped generate $445 million in tourism revenues courtesy of the over one million visitors to Rwanda in 2022. Tourism directly employs thousands of Rwandans. The revenues accrued allows the country to: build hospitals in rural areas, pay for school lunch programmes, and expand the national power grid.

The critics do not bash Rwanda’s partnerships with these teams because they are concerned over the state of human rights in Rwanda, or freedom of speech as they claim.

If this were a genuine concern, they would adopt a more inquisitive stance rather than hastily resorting to racist and condescending conclusions.

If what Rwanda is doing is sportswashing, then it should do more of it. So much more. And ignore the cynical critics.