Key facts
- Aston Villa has agreed to a new front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda.
- The deal is reportedly valued at £20 million annually.
- Aston Villa will feature the Visit Rwanda branding on their shirts for the upcoming Champions League season.
- Visit Rwanda has previously sponsored Arsenal and currently partners with other major European clubs.
Aston Villa has secured a significant new sponsorship deal, with Visit Rwanda set to become the club's front-of-shirt partner. The agreement, reportedly worth £20 million per year, will see the Rwandan tourism board's branding feature prominently on the team's kits as they prepare for their return to the Champions League.
This move comes as Premier League clubs have voluntarily decided to remove betting and casino brands from the prime advertising space on their shirts. Visit Rwanda, which previously held a sleeve sponsorship with Arsenal, joins Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, and Bayern Munich in the tourism board's portfolio of sporting partnerships.
The deal is part of Aston Villa's broader strategy to increase revenues, particularly in light of impending restrictions on spending due to squad cost ratio rules. The club has also recently entered into a training kit deal with Egyptian hotel chain El Gouna Red Sea, which is owned by the brother of Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris. The club is reportedly exploring further commercial opportunities, including naming rights for their stadium and training ground.
Visit Rwanda's previous partnership with Arsenal, which lasted nearly a decade, was reportedly valued at £10 million per season in its later stages. Arsenal has since replaced them with HR company Deel as their sleeve sponsor. The current trend among Premier League clubs indicates a shift away from gambling sponsorships, with some clubs opting for existing partners or less lucrative deals to fill the front-of-shirt vacancy.