Rwanda has signed a $26 million-a-year sponsorship deal with English professional football club Aston Villa, creating a platform for one of Rwanda’s most valuable agricultural exports.
BY DANIEL MURAGA
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos courtesy of the High Commission for the Republic of Rwanda to the U.K.
What to know:
- Rwanda has partnered with Aston Villa to promote its specialty coffee globally: The reported $26 million-a-year “Visit Rwanda” sponsorship makes Rwanda the club’s principal sponsor and coffee provider, with Rwandan coffee set to be served at Villa Park
- The partnership could give Rwanda’s coffee industry greater international recognition: Although coffee supports more than 450,000 smallholder farmers in Rwanda, the country produces significantly less coffee than neighboring East African producers. Industry leaders hope Aston Villa’s global fan base will increase awareness, sales, and export opportunities for Rwandan specialty coffee
English Premier League fans are set to enjoy Rwandan specialty coffee after the country signed a reported $26 million-a-year sponsorship deal with Aston Villa, creating a perfect platform for promotion of Rwanda’s most valuable agricultural exports. The deal promotes Rwandan tourism and specialty coffee through “Visit Rwanda,” with the country’s branding featured on all Aston Villa team shirts. Under this multi-year partnership, Rwanda becomes the club’s Principal Sponsor, Approved Tourism Partner, and Coffee Provider. The partnership also means that Rwandan coffee will be served at Villa Park, allowing every fan to sample what Rwanda has to offer in terms of specialty coffee.
Rwanda is using this sponsorship agreement, hailed by Aston Villa as the most momentous deal in the club’s history, to expand further its strategy of using world-famous European soccer to boost tourism, attract foreign investment, and create new markets for its specialty coffee. The world will see the “Visit Rwanda” branding appear on the shirt fronts worn by Aston Villa teams (men, women, and academy).
Transitioning from gambling sponsorships to coffee
In April 2023, English Premier League clubs voluntarily and collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorships from the front of their match-day shirts. The transition period was slated to end with the 2025/26 season, meaning that it comes into effect with the start of this new season (2026/27). Following these developments, Aston Villa, which finished fourth on the table, replaced gambling firm Betano with a sweeter alternative – Visit Rwanda. Now, the fans will not gamble with their tastes; they have a sure bet of specialty coffee to enjoy.
“This is a very exciting partnership for Aston Villa and a symbol of the club’s continuing expansion and growth into international markets,” Francesco Calvo, the club’s President of Business Operations, said while announcing the deal.
Visit Rwanda is the official tourism marketing campaign arm of the Rwanda Development Board that promotes travel, conservation, and foreign investment in Rwanda, a country in East Africa, popularly known as a “Land of a Thousand Hills.”
Coffee farming in Rwanda
According to the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), coffee production in Rwanda ranges from 267,000 to 420,000 bags per year (16,000 to 21,000 metric tons), with more than 450,000 smallholder farmers depending on it for their livelihoods. Since its introduction by Germany in 1904, the area under cultivation has grown to the current 42,000 hectares (103784 acres), dominated mainly by the bourbon type of Arabica coffee (95%).
With this partnership, Visit Rwanda will provide Aston Villa and Premier League fans and the larger European community with a chance to enjoy high-quality Arabica coffee with a “silky, creamy body and hints of the coveted lemon and orange blossom, and caramel in the aftertaste.”
With such an extraordinary coffee background, and as it becomes the club’s coffee provider, Rwandan coffee will impress as it spreads across Aston Villa’s hospitality and commercial activities, creating a strong export promotion aspect to Rwanda’s long-standing sports marketing campaign strategy.
According to Janet Karemera, the chief executive officer of the Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB), both Aston Villa men’s and women’s teams, as well as the Executive team, will visit Rwanda as per the agreement. But coffee takes center stage at Villa Park.
“Rwandan coffee will be at Villa Park,” Maëva Haguma, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of RCB, says. “Aston Villa has a lot of fans all over the world who come to see the games. That means they will have an opportunity to taste Rwandan coffee, and when they want to buy it afterwards, they can do so.”
Proximity to coffee giants
Rwanda is in the same region (East Africa) as coffee-producing giants like Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya. It is common knowledge that Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica coffee and already exports massive quantities to Europe (approximately 469,000 metric tons). Uganda produces about 450,000 metric tons annually, Tanzania produces 100,000 tons per season, while Kenya does about 45,000 metric tons annually. These figures show that Rwanda is still far behind the coffee scene in the region, and this situation is made even worse by its proximity to these global coffee export market behemoths. The partnership with Aston Villa is therefore of paramount importance if Rwanda is to compete regionally. The quality of Rwandan coffee is already high, but quality is not enough – recognition is also key.
Aimé Dusabe Gahizi, the Managing Director of Gitesi Coffee Ltd in Rwanda, agrees with these sentiments. He sees the partnership as helping address one of the country’s main challenges in the coffee sector.
“Rwandan coffee has not yet achieved the level of recognition it deserves,” he says. “Partnering with a globally recognized club like Aston Villa will increase its visibility, and greater visibility usually translates into higher sales and better value.”
Challenges
The sponsorship deal has its own unique challenges. These stem from the country’s leadership that has been accused of human rights violations and associations with armed groups in the neighboring DRC. Some have accused Rwanda of “sportswashing”, a situation where a country uses sport to redirect public attention away from unethical conduct, or to “wash” away negative publicity. However, these claims have had no real impact because Rwanda has had successful previous deals with prominent clubs such as PSG, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and others.
“I do think that Rwanda is a very forward-looking country, very much focused on the future,” Francesco says. “I do believe that they focus on sport: to generate tourism, attention and investment for Rwanda. This is the way Rwanda sees this partnership.”
Looking forward
In Rwanda, football sponsorship is going beyond promoting tourism. It is evolving into a strong economic strategy to attract and advance foreign investments and exports, especially for its burgeoning premium coffee sector. This sponsorship deal is anchored in strong economic development goals for Rwanda and offers a perfect opportunity for sporting activities to thrive alongside growth in the country’s coffee sector.
According to Francesco, the basis of this partnership with Aston Villa is to help develop sporting, economic and tourism opportunities for Rwandan people.
“With Aston Villa, we found an alignment with our values, with what they’re trying to achieve in Birmingham,” Janet Karemera says. “It’s a city that looks at enterprise, innovation and progression.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Muraga (he/him) is a communications expert, researcher, writer, and editor based in Kenya with over 10 years of experience in the industry. His mission is to highlight Africa’s contributions to the realms of science, technology, innovation, culture, food, and related fields. He has done extensive research and written widely in the coffee niche for Sprudge Media, as well as in related areas for Life & Thyme and CQ Researcher, among others. When not writing, he is always outdoors communing with nature. You can find him on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
Subscribe and More!
As always, you can enjoy your own copy of Barista Magazine by subscribing or ordering an issue. Long live physical media!
Support Barista Magazine and show your love with a Membership.
Signup for our weekly newsletter.
Join us at Camp Coffee Shop Aug. 10-13 in Napa, California.
