The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has agreed to pay more than $46.37m in a sponsorship deal with Spanish football club Barcelona that would see a logo promoting tourism appear on some team apparel, according to a contract seen by Reuters.
The contract with Barcelona, seen on Thursday by the news agency, is dated June 29 and stipulates that a logo branding the war-hit Central African country as the “heart of Africa” will appear on the backs of training and warm-up jerseys for the men’s and women’s teams.
The logo will also appear in advertising for the club and in the club magazine and annual report, the contract says.
DR Congo will pay the club between $11.6m and $13.3m annually over the next four seasons, it says.
Details of the deal between DR Congo and Barcelona have not been announced.
AS Monaco and AC Milan last month also announced sponsorship deals with DR Congo without disclosing the amounts.
DR Congo’s Sports Minister Didier Budimbu told Reuters the contract with AS Monaco is worth $1.85m per season. He did not disclose the amounts for the contracts with AC Milan or Barcelona.
A government source said the contract with AC Milan was worth $16.2m per season.
DR Congo’s Ministry of Tourism did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday, while Barcelona told Reuters they had no comment at this time.
In February, DR Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner urged football clubs Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain to end their “blood-stained” sponsorship agreements with “Visit Rwanda”.
The appeal came less than a week after M23 rebels seized eastern DR Congo’s biggest city, Goma, as part of a lightning advance.
Rwanda denies backing M23, saying it is defending itself.
A report by a group of United Nations experts obtained by Reuters this month said Kigali exercised command and control over the rebels during their advance, gaining political influence and access to mineral-rich territory.
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