28th August 2025
August 28 – Amnesty International has criticised FC Barcelona, calling the club’s sponsorship deal with DR Congo a “whitewash” of the country’s armed conflict with Rwanda.
A few weeks ago, the Calatans followed in the footsteps of both AS Monaco and AC Milan to team up with DR Congo to “promote football and the culture of sport and peace,” but Amnesty has called out the €44 million deal as reputation laundering by the African country.
The rights group wrote: “Sports cannot be a platform to whitewash human rights violations.
“Now, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda are not only fighting each other through armed groups like the M23 or Wazalendo. They’re also now doing so on European football pitches.
“On one side, Barcelona, Milan, and Monaco. On the other, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Atlético Madrid.
“The match has begun, and we, as fans, can’t help but shrug our shoulders every time we see phrases like ‘DR Congo – Coeur de L’Afrique’ or ‘Visit Rwanda’ on our team’s jerseys.”
Reportedly backed by Rwanda, the M23 rebel group has captured large areas of the mineral-rich eastern Congo from the DRC’s army since re-emerging in 2021, fuelling a deepening humanitarian crisis in a region already scarred by three decades of conflict.
Amnesty demanded that the clubs conduct proper due diligence “in accordance with the standards set out in the Enhanced Human Rights Due Diligence for Businesses in Conflict-Affected Contexts guide, to ensure that the funding the club receives is not linked, for example, to illegal resource extraction.”
DR Congo’s government is also moving to implement the death penalty for homosexuality, while Barcelona openly supports LGBTQIA+ causes.
On 19 July, DRC and M23 representatives signed a “declaration of principles” in Doha, Qatar, facilitated by the Qatar government, pledging to work toward a final peace agreement that will align with the peace deal signed in Washington DC by DRC and Rwanda on 27 June.
Previously, AS Monaco and AC Milan had also signed deals with DR Congo. The Ligue 1 club will receive 1.6 million euros per season, sports Minister Didier Budimbu told Reuters. The terms of the deal with the Italian club were not released. DR Congo’s strategy mirrors that of Rwanda. European clubs Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and Arsenal FC are promoting tourism in Rwanda, a country repeatedly accused of sportswashing.
Contact the writer of this story Samindra Kunti at [moc.l1756373572labto1756373572ofdlr1756373572owedi1756373572sni@i1756373572tnuk.1756373572ardni1756373572mas1756373572](javascript:;)