SA Tourism's R900m Spurs sponsor backlash: 4 other controversial club-country deals

The Department of South African Tourism (SAT) plan to enter into a sponsorship deal worth close to R1 billion with Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

As reported by the Daily Maverick, the proposed deal will be for three years, starting at the beginning of the 2023/24 Premier League season.

READ | Advertising, kit branding: Inside SA Tourism's nearly R1bn Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship proposal

The timing of SA Tourism's proposal to use taxpayer money for the sponsorship deal has been met with public opposition in South Africa amid daily nationwide power cuts, water scarcity, safety concerns and an unstable government.

Similar sponsorship deals have been secured by teams across Europe over the past decade from nations around the world.

Here are five controversial sponsorship deals that have raised eyebrows:

Rwanda: Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain 

In 2018 Arsenal entered into a partnership with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and, in 2021, took that relationship to the next level. 

The club inked a deal with RDB worth £10 million per season for their first-ever sleeve sponsor, which has seen the club promote 'Visit Rwanda' on the club's left sleeve.

The announcement was met with huge criticism as the east African nation continues to be accused of several human rights abuses, as revealed by Humans Rights Watch.

READ | Leeds United was SA's first target before Tottenham as controversial deal debate rages on

"It absolutely cannot be defended," said Zoe Gardner to The Athletic, who is an Arsenal fan and policy and advocacy manager at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants. "We have Visit Rwanda on our team’s shirts when we’re talking about sending refugees there for life. It's just sickening."

A year after the deal