Africa-Press – Lesotho. In a sponsorship agreement reviewed by Reuters on Thursday, the Democratic Republic of Congo agreed to pay more than 40 million euros ($46.37 million) to Spanish soccer team Barcelona in exchange for a logo that would promote travel appearing on some team equipment.
The June 29 contract with Barcelona states that the men’s and women’s teams’ training and warm-up shirts will have a graphic that refers to the war-torn Central African nation as the “heart of Africa.”
According to the contract, the club’s magazine, annual report, and advertising will all feature the emblem.
According to the club, Congo will provide it between 10 million and 11.5 million euros a year for the following four seasons.
The Congo-Barcelon agreement’s specifics have not yet been disclosed.
Last month, AS Monaco and AC Milan also revealed sponsorship agreements with Congo, albeit they did not reveal the financial terms.
Didier Budimbu, the Congolese minister of sports, told Reuters that the deal with AS Monaco is worth 1.6 million euros a season.
He kept the sums of the contracts with Barcelona and AC Milan a secret.
The contract with AC Milan was valued at 14 million euros per season, according to a Congolese government source.
When Congolese Tourism Minister Didier M’Pambia announced the AC Milan arrangement on June 20, he stated it was a part of a government plan “to reposition the DRC on the international stage as an undisputed leader on the African continent” through the promotion of investment and tourism.
Barcelona told Reuters they had no comment at this moment, while Congo’s tourism ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Thursday.
Football teams Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Paris St. Germain were encouraged to terminate their “blood-stained” sponsorship deals with “Visit Rwanda” by Congo’s foreign minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner in February.
The appeal was made less than a week after M23 rebels launched a rapid offensive and took control of Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo.
Rwanda claims to be defending itself and denies support for M23.
According to a study by a panel of UN experts that Reuters was able to secure this month, Kigali gained political clout and access to mineral-rich area by exercising command and control over the rebels during their march.
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