Arsenal have won their last two Premier League after losing their first two, and Emery and his new gunners are gradually getting into their strides.
However on the faraway African continent, Arsenal is in the news for a different reason. Rwanda’s paid 30 million euros this summer to buy Arsenal jersey ads.
Arsenal fans in Rwanda.
Rwanda buy Arsenal’s armband ads
The loyal Arsenal fan Joan Marley Mukasa is sitting in the stands, he is the organizer of the ongoing friendly match.
The two sides of the game are the Liverpool Fan Club and the Arsenal Fan Club in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. At the end of the first half, Arsenal fans were 0-3 behind.
Mukasa muttered and said: “They brought professional players.” Then he patted the beer belly, and his Arsenal jersey was a bit tight. “Some of our players are very old. If we know earlier, we can also find professional players. Come.”
Football has always been a very popular sport in Rwanda, and now it has a special status. This is closely related to Arsenal’s new jersey.
At the beginning of the season, Arsenal’s armband showed an advertisement for “Visit Rwanda”. The developing country signed an appointment with Arsenal for three years and bought one of the most expensive advertising spots in the world.
The sponsorship contract is eye-catching, but the official does not state the specific amount of sponsorship that Rwanda has paid to Arsenal. The estimated value should be close to Chelsea or Manchester City, which has an armband advertising contract of about three years, 33 million euros, or 11 million euros per year. .
Rwanda travel ad on Arsenal armband.
Why do you want to invest in Arsenal?
In England , the discussion on cooperation between Rwanda and Arsenal is particularly loud, as England has provided nearly 64 million euros in funding to Rwanda this year. Germany is also concerned that their annual assistance to Rwanda is around 26 million euros.
However, the German government stated that funding for Rwanda is used for specific projects and has nothing to do with sports sponsorship. The project is operated by the Rwanda Development Agency, who said that sponsoring Arsenal is to boost local tourism and raise people’s income levels.
Indeed, African countries have made reasonable investments based on the economic situation. This is the correct appeal. Rwanda Development Agency Chairman Akamatz also said on Twitter: “People who criticize this agreement either hope that Rwanda will remain poor, or else They can’t understand that every business is going to cost money.”
In an interview with CNN, she said that the sponsorship contract with Arsenal was less than 33 million euros, but did not disclose more specific figures.
Rakadada Development Agency Chairman Akamatz.
Concerns from all over the world
The love of Africans for the Premier League is not new. Kenyan gaming company SportPesa sponsored Hull City and Everton , but was a commercial operation of a private company. But the core question in Rwanda and Arsenal is: Can a country with an underdeveloped economy use millions of euros to sponsor one of the richest clubs in the world? “
Rwandans do not understand why the outside world is so excited. As an Arsenal fan, Mukasa said: “The key is that the money is not paid for with external assistance. This is a good deal, we have found the right platform to make people realize that Rwanda is an attractive Travel destination. I think this has already worked.”
The popularity of the Premier League in Rwanda has already exceeded the national league. In the 1990s, the Premier League entered Africa through an increasing number of satellite TVs, far ahead of the Bundesliga or other competitors. Mukasa said: “In Rwanda, it has been a long time for French and Italian football, but suddenly the Premier League dominated.”
Henry and Vieira’s Arsenal conquered Rwanda.
At that time, Arsenal had Vieira, Wright, Henry and many star players. “Professor” Wenger’s offensive football was pleasing to the eye, which gave Arsenal a large number of fans in Rwanda.
Rwandan President Kagame is also a famous Arsenal fan, and he often commented on Arsenal’s developments on Twitter. Football and politics often have close ties in East Africa. Rwanda’s domestic giants and the Rwandan Patriotic Army Club, which has 16 champions, are affiliated with the Ministry of National Defense.
However, the Rwandan government stressed that Kagame did not participate in this sponsorship contract. According to the Rwanda Development Agency, 35 million people around the world see Arsenal’s jerseys and Rwandan advertisements every day: “When Arsenal’s game was held, when the players were interviewed, there were other marketing campaigns, we got The attention of the whole world.”
Kagame shows the Arsenal jersey.
Rwanda’s national appeal
Rwanda sees tourism as an important economic engine, generating 13% of GDP and creating 132,000 jobs.
According to data from the Ministry of Tourism of Rwanda, the number of visitors to the country has increased from 926,000 in 2015 to 987,000 in 2016, with an income increase of 55 million euros. According to this data, the sponsorship fee paid to Arsenal will attract more than 12,400 visitors.
Of course, the role of advertising is not only to promote tourism, but also to attract investment. Not long ago, the German Volkswagen Group opened a factory in Rwanda.
Rare mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
In general, the role of marketing is difficult to measure by numbers, but Rwanda is following the trend: the Premier League is attracting more and more travel industry sponsors.
Fulham once advertised Florida, and Liverpool endorsed the Caribbean Island State Barbados Tourism Authority. Statistics for 2017 also show that visitors to Barbados increased by 20% compared to 2014, and more than one-third of 62,500 visitors came from England.
However, the sponsorship fee at that time was incomparable to that of Rwanda to Arsenal.
Rwanda is a mid to high-end tourist route. If you want to see a rare mountain gorilla now, one person has to pay 1,300 euros, more than double the previous years. Arsenal is the most expensive club in the Premier League season ticket. This shows to some extent that Arsenal fans have strong spending power and they are indeed the target customer group of Rwanda tourism.