Barça's new sponsorship sparks outrage

BarcelonaThe search for money by Joan Laporta's board has led Barça to close a sponsorship agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the most corrupt countries in the world (ranked 163 out of 180 by Transparency International). It also suffers from extreme lack of water and food in some areas; has serious infrastructure deficiencies and is experiencing a period of insecurity due to the territorial advance of the M23, a predominantly Tutsi rebel military group. Because of all this, activists, journalists and other members of Congolese civil society express their rejection of their government's agreement to allocate more than 40 million euros to sponsor Barça's training shirt for four seasons with the slogan "DR Congo – Heart of Africa (Congo, Heart of Africa). The alliance is official as of this Wednesday.

The Struggle movement, which fights to defend the rights and dignity of the Congolese, organized a demonstration on July 17 in front of the Ministry of Sports in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some of the slogans on the protesters' banners were "Barça can display 'DRC Heart of Africa,' but the true heart bleeds" and "The DRC has never been so humiliated, Linafoot [the Congolese football league] is dying, but we are investing elsewhere." Barça's sponsorship is at the center of the protests, but they are also motivated by the two more agreements that the Central African government has recently closed with European football, with AC Milan and Monaco.

"We are peacefully demonstrating in front of the Ministry of Sports to demand the immediate termination of sponsorship contracts, a futile act at a time when our country is facing existential threats," the Lucha movement posted on X, denouncing the violence used by the police against its members during the demonstration. "These sponsorships, which total $100 million, represent an incomprehensible and unacceptable decision within a national context marked by poverty, underdevelopment of basic infrastructure and the total abandonment of the national sports sector," Lucha said in a statement. "Public funds should serve the people and not the international prestige of leaders or political propaganda hidden behind sponsorship," they concluded.

Bienvenu Matumo, a Congolese activist with over 90,000 followers on X, has also spoken out publicly against these sponsorships. “Sports Minister Didier Budimbu ordered his progressive militiamen and cabinet colleagues to repress, arrest, torture and threaten Struggle activists protesting against sponsorship contracts with European clubs. They forced the activists to make videos supporting the minister! I condemn these repressive practices and methods. The minister in question is responsible for this violence against non-violent activists,” he tweeted.

The war between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda

These sponsorship agreements between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and European football clubs, according to African political experts consulted by ARA, are intended to counterbalance neighboring Rwanda's sponsorships with other top clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and, recently, Atlético Madrid. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has pointed to Rwanda as a sponsor of the Tutsi-majority rebel military group M23, which has established itself in eastern DRC, particularly in North Kivu province.

Because of this, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's foreign minister, asked Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and Arsenal in early 2025 to terminate their contracts with Rwanda because they were "stained with blood." The Democratic Republic of Congo has been experiencing conflict for 30 years, and just this June, it signed an agreement with Rwanda, with the supervision of the United States, for "the disarmament of non-state armed groups."

A contract that will help register the recruits.

Although the figures are not official, Reuters reported that the contract of more than 40 million euros spread over four seasons (between 10 and 11.5 million per year) between the Barcelona club and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo was signed on June 29. This date is significant because it means that Barça, if it can prove to the club's auditor that the signature was actually made before the close of the 2024-2025 financial year on June 30, will be able to count on this injection of funds when presenting the figures at the shareholders' assembly in October.

The motto "DR Congo – Heart of Africa" will appear on the back of the training and warm-up shirts of all of the institution's professional teams. This agreement "represents a shared commitment to fostering multi-sport development within the DRC [...] by transmitting Barça's ecosystem of values," maintains the club, which will also install "an immersive exhibition" at the new Camp Nou "to showcase the cultural diversity and sporting tradition" of the Central African country.

The new sponsorship could also help register Barça's two summer signings for the men's team, Marcus Rashford and Joan Garcia, who have not yet appeared on La Liga's official website because the Catalan club is still over the salary cap. Another player who is still awaiting registration is Szczesny. Meanwhile, Barça is waiting to see if Ter Stegen's injury, who underwent successful back surgery on Tuesday, is ultimately long-term (a minimum of four months out) and, therefore, the club can also use this avenue to register players.