By Dolapo Aina
On Wednesday, the 10th of May 2023, Paris Saint-Germain and Visit Rwanda renewed their partnership through to 2025 after a successful initial three stint from 2019-2023. The agreement will see Visit Rwanda continue its partnership with the club with the goal of showcasing Rwanda as a top tourism and investment destination on the African Continent, developing cultural, creative synergies, and promoting Rwandan coffee and tea.
Visit Rwanda is the tourism-focused arm of the Rwanda Development Board, a government body responsible for fast-tracking Rwanda’s economic development by enabling private sector growth. Visit Rwanda works with local conservation, tourism, and development partners to generate tourism products that benefit inbound tourists, local communities, and wildlife ecosystems.
Since the beginning of the partnership with PSG, Visit Rwanda has enjoyed a highly visible presence at the Pare des Princes on matchdays, with its logo also appearing on the men’s team’s training and warm-up kits. Rouge et Bleu fans have also been savouring the finest tea and coffee Rwanda has to offer, served exclusively at the stadium.
Furthermore, the PSG Academy Rwanda opened its doors in the city of Huye in 2020, offering 100%-PSG training sessions to more than 100 children, some of them beneficiaries of the club’s Foundation. Last year, the academy won the PSG Academy World Cup in the boys’ U-13 category where Rwanda was taking part in the annual competition for the first time.
In a joint statement by both parties; they stated that: “In just a few years, Rwanda has become a global tourism hotspot. It is home to the majestic mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park and Big 5 in Akagera National Park. Though the pandemic hit travel hard, the country’s efforts to promote itself as a destination have allowed it to regain the appeal it enjoyed in 2019 and to build on that momentum this year. In 2022, it welcomed more than a million visitors from abroad and brought in almost half a billion dollars in tourism revenues, a figure it is looking to take up to 800 million dollars by 2025.”
The statement further revealed that: “The creative element of the partnership between Rwanda and the club was symbolised through a special evening of events during the Paris Saint-Germain-Olympique Lyonnais match on 2 April. The “Rwanda Heritage Game” brought Rwandan artists Christopher Muneza and Weya Viatora to the SO/Bar for an outstanding pre-match performance attended by former PSG legend Luis Fernandez.”
Rwanda Development Board’s Chief Tourism Officer, Michaella Rugwizangoga, stated that: “There is more to the partnership between Visit Rwanda and Paris Saint-Germain than just promoting Rwanda as a destination. It aims to create synergies in culture, fashion, the arts, and football development, which is very important to us. Paris Saint-Germain provides us with an amazing platform to present the very best of Rwanda to millions of fans around the world. We are delighted to be able continue our partnership and to do even more things together.”
On her part, Sponsorship Director for Paris Saint-Germain Cynthia Marcou stated: “In working with Visit Rwanda, Paris Saint-Germain has taken sponsorship to the next level in terms of standards and synergy. Together we have developed extremely creative activations in which our players and ambassadors regularly take part. Such events enhance the image of Rwanda, a forward-looking country, and raise the profile of Rwandan tourism, allowing it to position itself as a global leader.”
Since 2019, the strong ties between Paris Saint-Germain and Visit Rwanda have been brought to life through some outstanding initiatives in a whole host of areas.
A plethora of PSG Team players such as Sergio Ramos, Keylor Navas, Julian Draxler and Thilo Kehrer and legendary former players of the calibre of Youri Djorkaeff, Rai, Ludovic Giuly and Juan Pablo Sorin have discovered the treasures of the Land of a Thousand Hills as they visited Rwanda.
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