Amnesty accuses F1 of offering Rwanda a 'sportswashing prize' with race deal

LONDON, Oct 13 : Human rights campaigners Amnesty International accused Formula One of hollow words and offering Rwanda a "sportswashing prize" with a 10-year African Grand Prix deal announced on Tuesday.

The landmark deal envisages a race sometime in the early 2030s, at a circuit that has yet to be built near a new international airport to the south of Kigali. It will be the first race in Africa since 1993.

"A 10-year Grand Prix 'presented by Visit Rwanda' is a sportswashing prize for the Rwandan authorities," said Felix Jakens, Amnesty UK's head of campaigns in a written response.

"Arsenal, Aston Villa, the cycling world championships and now Formula One - Rwanda is buying into the world's biggest sports to polish its image and deflect from its appalling human rights record. 

"Formula One says sport can be 'a positive force for good'. That rings hollow if F1 shrugs off who it is partnering with. Rwanda's authorities are prolific in arbitrary detention, torture and the repression of free speech – these are abuses at home."

The Rwandan government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The allegation of "sportswashing" is levelled at countries perceived to be using sport to improve a tarnished image abroad. Several other Formula One hosts, mainly in the Middle East, have been accused of it.

Premier League side Aston Villa's sponsorship agreement with Visit Rwanda drew similar criticism from human rights campaigners last July.

The African nation's tourism board also has sponsorship agreements with Atletico Madrid and Paris St Germain, as well as US sports teams including the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Rams. It had branding on Arsenal's shirt sleeves for eight seasons.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame