German football club Bayern Munich announced a five-year football development and tourism promotion partnership with Rwanda on Sunday (August 27).

The partnership, unveiled during FC Bayern’s first home game of the season, will see the club work specifically with Rwanda’s Ministry of Sports to set up a football academy to strengthen the development of football in the country.

In addition, the Bundesliga champions will display Visit Rwanda branding on matchday LED boards at the club’s 75 000-seat Allianz Arena, and different activities will be organised to promote tourism and investment opportunities in Rwanda.

Jan-Christian Dreesen, FC Bayern CEO, said: "I am very pleased with this collaboration agreed upon until the summer of 2028. FC Bayern can become active on the African continent and gather important experiences. The new platinum partnership is aligned with long-term goals. We will promote 'Visit Rwanda' and help Rwanda grow in sports with projects for youth football. These are challenging and responsible tasks. Africa is a continent of opportunities. For FC Bayern, this is the next important step in internationalisation."

Clare Akamanzi, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board, said: “We are pleased to welcome yet another strategic partner in FC Bayern Munich. It’s been five outstanding years since the Government of Rwanda announced the Visit Rwanda campaign and adding FC Bayern as another additional partner allows us to reach out to its millions of fans across the globe and tell them to visit Rwanda. Germany is among Rwanda’s top five tourism source markets and we aim to use this partnership to attract more tourists to Rwanda, showcase investment and business opportunities and encourage all to stay in Rwanda.”

Rwanda has signed similar partnerships with English Premier League side Arsenal and French giants Paris Saint-Germain, which the country’s President Paul Kagame said had returned “impressive dividends for local tourism”.