Rwanda shrugs off ‘sportswashing’ criticism in pursuit of a winning development formula

Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — He may be the president of a small, landlocked state in central Africa, but Paul Kagame has always had outsize dreams. In recent months, Rwanda’s president has embarked on perhaps the biggest of them all by pitching to bring a Formula 1 Grand Prix to a country that was mired in genocide 30 years ago but now sees itself as one of the continent’s leaders. Determined to overcome his country’s geographical disadvantages, Kagame has relentlessly pursued a political, diplomatic and economic strategy to make Rwanda an African heavyweight. Since 2018, his government has secured sponsorship deals with some of Europe’s biggest soccer clubs, developed a partnership with the NBA and spent hundreds of millions of dollars in developing Rwanda’s sports facilities.