Agence France-Presse is an international news agency headquartered in Paris, France.
Summary
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A
"famous" third club is on the cards for Rwanda, according to
President Paul Kagame, who has spent a small fortune on sports investments that
he says will burnish the international image and diversify the economy of the
tiny central African country.
First, it was a multi-million dollar sponsorship of English Premier League club Arsenal in 2018, followed by ...
a splashy deal to back French giants Paris Saint-Germain a year later.Now, a "famous" third club
is on the cards for Rwanda, according to President Paul Kagame, who has spent a
small fortune on sports investments that he says will burnish the international
image and diversify the economy of the tiny central African country.
But the splurge, which includes club
sponsorships and hosting duties for events ranging from 2021's Basketball
Africa league tournament to cycling's Road World Championships in 2025, has
drawn accusations of "sports-washing", or using sports to hide the
country's grim human rights record.
Campaigners accuse Kagame of
crushing political dissent and stifling free speech during his more than 22
years in power.
"These investments do not meet
the immediate needs of the vast majority of Rwandans," said opposition
politician Victoire Ingabire, a fierce critic of Kagame.
"I don't believe there is
return for his investments," she told AFP, saying that the sponsorships
did little to help rural Rwandans.
"It is wasted money."
The impoverished country, where per
capita income is estimated at just $822 according to 2021 World Bank figures,
has spent millions of dollars ramping up its sports infrastructure and erecting
new buildings.
It is currently renovating the
25,000-capacity national stadium to add 20,000 more seats in a project billed
at around $165 million and expected to be completed by next year.
An 18-hole golf course designed by
South African golfer Gary Player and costing $16 million opened in the capital
Kigali in 2021.
In 2017, Rwanda unveiled a
$1.3-million cricket stadium on the outskirts of Kigali, following it up a year
later with a 10,000-seater basketball arena costing $104 million.
Government officials have defended
the projects, arguing that they serve to bolster the country's reputation as a
safe destination for high-profile events.
Rwanda, whose tumultuous history is
indelibly marked by the 1994 genocide, hosted the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM) last year, attended by some 30 leaders including
King Charles III, then a prince.
And world football's governing body
FIFA will be in town this week for its 73rd congress to reelect its chief
Gianni Infantino who is running unopposed.
Authorities say such events bring in
much-needed foreign exchange and provide an economic boost to the landlocked
nation which is reliant on tourism.
Pre-pandemic tourism revenues jumped
17 percent to $498 million in 2019, according to Rwanda Development Board.
The board's CEO, Clare Akamanzi,
said at the weekend that the Arsenal and PSG sponsorship deals alone had
generated over $160 million in media value. This had in turn brought one
million visitors to Rwanda, injecting $445 million in tourism revenues, she
added.
"These guests not only left
Rwanda with positive memories; they also played a direct role in improving
peoples' lives," she wrote in an opinion piece published Saturday in the
East African newspaper.
"It's alright to disagree with
Rwanda's governance model, but a campaign to undermine investment in a
developing country's economy, which has a real impact on the lives (of) people,
is counterproductive and cynical."
Ruling party MP John-Ruku Rwabyoma
echoed her sentiments in an interview with AFP, charging that critics of the
deal were "ignorant" and that the government was acting in the best
interest of its people.
"We are not here to satisfy
critics based on their agenda. Where were all these critics when Rwanda was
suffering?"
'Not
be bullied'
For Kagame -- an ardent Arsenal
supporter -- the deals had surpassed "by far what we invested", he
said this month, adding that the government was on the verge of sponsoring a
third team.
The 65-year-old became president in
April 2000, although he has been regarded as de facto leader of the country of
nearly 13 million people since 1994.
"I am the one who knows what we
put in; I know how much we are getting out," he said, without offering any
details.
A foreign diplomat who spoke on condition
of anonymity told AFP he was skeptical about the claims.
"I don't know whether it is
cost-effective... whether it is paying off in the long run, maybe then, but
now, I do not think so," he said, adding that he had not seen the numbers
to support the government's narrative.
Nonetheless, doubts raised by
"pundits who mostly know next to nothing about Rwanda, and draw upon tired
tropes" will do little to stop the initiatives, according to the RDB's
Akamanzi.
"We will not be bullied into
ceding our place at the table," she said.
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