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MUNICH: Bayern Munich signaled Friday they will cut down on “Visit Rwanda” branding as they move “away from a commercial sponsorship” with the African nation facing a backlash over alleged support for rebels in neighboring Congo.

Bayern dismissed allegations of “sportswashing” when they signed a five-year Rwanda deal in 2023. It included advertisements in the stadium and what Bayern called events “to promote tourism and investment opportunities in Rwanda.”

At the time, they replaced a controversial sponsorship deal with Qatar. Rwanda has similar sponsorships with European soccer giants like Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.

Some Bayern fans displayed a large banner at a game in February protesting the deal, amid accusations from the United Nations that Rwanda has backed rebels in neighboring Congo.

Now the German soccer champion say they have reached a new deal with Rwanda which turns the existing sponsorship deal into a three-year agreement focusing on developing young soccer players at a Bayern-affiliated academy in the country.

“In constructive talks about our future direction, we agreed that a very special part of our relationship with (the Rwanda Development Board) was the developmental nature of our work in Kigali through the FC Bayern Academy,” Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen said in a statement.

“We are therefore transforming our commercial partnership into a talent program and expanding the FC Bayern Academy in (Rwanda’s capital) Kigali together with the RDB as both a football and social initiative. This remains perfectly aligned to our strategic objective of developing playing talent in Africa.”

Bayern didn’t specify how soon they would drop “Visit Rwanda” branding as part of the move, which is described as a transition. As of Friday afternoon local time, the branding was still displayed under a section of the Bayern website listing club sponsors and partners.

The RDB’s chief executive, Jean-Guy Afrika, was quoted by Bayern as saying the changes to the partnership aimed to “accelerate sports development,” adding: “This continued partnership with FC Bayern helps ensure that talent development remains anchored in our broader vision to position Rwanda as a global hub for tourism, investment, and high-performance sport.”

Rwanda’s presence in European soccer has grown steadily since 2018, when it first partnered with Arsenal to put “Visit Rwanda” branding on the London club’s shirt sleeves.

An agreement with PSG was signed in 2019 and renewed in April this year. It covers branding in the stadium and included shirt-sleeve sponsorship at the Club World Cup. A three-year deal to sponsor Atletico was agreed in April including branding on training and warm-up shirts.

Rwanda is accused of supporting the M23 rebel group, the most potent of more than 100 armed
groups vying for dominance in mineral-rich eastern Congo just across the border with Rwanda. Rwanda also has been accused of exploiting eastern Congo’s minerals, used in smartphones, advanced fighter jets and much more.

However, Rwandan authorities allege some of those who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled into Congo and are either working with or are being protected by the Congolese army. They have denied involvement in Congo’s minerals sector and said any security action taken is to protect its territory.

AMSTERDAM: One of the Netherlands’ oldest clubs, Vitesse Arnhem, lost a final bid to save their professional license on Friday and were effectively kicked out of the league, sparking fan protests.

The Central Netherlands Court rejected the club’s appeal to overturn a decision by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) to revoke their professional license.

Dutch media showed images of scuffles in Arnhem city center as supporters gathered. One journalist was slapped, the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper reported, as anger was directed against media.

The court upheld the KNVB decision after the football association said the club had circumvented and undermined the licensing system for years and had spurned repeated opportunities to regularise their affairs, including debt reported to be around 14 million euros ($16.3 million).

The club, established in 1892, had been sanctioned last year and relegated to the Dutch second division because of financial irregularities, which the KNVB said included the absence of a bank account, the absence of a controlling accountant, and the fact that no conclusive budget could be provided.

Vitesse were the first Dutch club to have foreign owners in 2010 when Georgian businessman Merab Jordania took over the club with Russian Valeriy Oyf becoming majority owner in 2018.

The club’s financial fortunes changed drastically after sanctions that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The decision means Saturday’s scheduled match against Almere City has been canceled and leaves the Dutch second division with 19 clubs.

In a statement, Vitesse said they were “devastated” by the verdict. “What the future holds is unclear,” the statement said.

“The club is exploring options and continues to talk to stakeholders to safeguard football in Arnhem.”

Vitesse, who were four-time runners-up in the Dutch league but never won the championship, will be forced to either continue as an amateur club or cease to exist.

The Dutch league has two divisions, but there is no mandatory promotion and relegation between the second tier of the professional competition and the amateur ranks.

“The worst-case scenario has come true,” said Arnhem’s Alderman for Sports Affairs Bob Roelofs.

“This is a tragedy for the city, for the supporters, for Vitesse. The city has lost a large part of its DNA.”