After months of silence amid growing criticism, Bayern Munich has announced that it will no longer promote Visit Rwanda, the tourism arm of the African country's government.

"The new arrangement transitions the relationship away from a commercial sponsorship to a dedicated partnership focusing on football development in Rwanda through the expansion of the FC Bayern Youth Academy in Kigali," read a statement on the club website posted on Friday.

Previously, the agreement had been that Bayern would also display Visit Rwanda advertising on pitchside hoardings and "promote tourism and investment opportunities in Rwanda."

An open letter written by Congo's foreign minister, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, in February called on Bayern Munich and two other clubs sponsored by Rwanda — Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) — to end "blood-stained sponsorship deals with this oppressor nation" in relation to the conflict between the two countries, where a fragile ceasefire currently holds. It sparked global interest on the clubs' relationship with the country, which has invested heavily in sports in recent years.

Bayern changes Rwanda focus 

Rwanda is widely accepted, including by the United Nations, to be supporting M23, a rebel group of ethnic Tutsis who have captured swaths of territory in the Democratic Republic of Congo and been accused of various kinds of brutality. While a fragile ceasefire, brokered by the US, is in place between Rwanda and Congo, it is not expected to last long.

Shortly after that open letter, Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen told DW that he had "personally sent two employees to Rwanda to monitor the situation. Our colleagues will return this week and report back."

No such report was ever made public and Bayern repeatedly ignored requests for an update from DW. In late February, Bayern fans raised a banner criticizing the partnership. It read: "Visit Rwanda — whoever looks on with indifference is betraying the values of FC Bayern!"

On Friday, Dreesen said that the contract expiry date of 2028 remains unchanged and that the loss of the commercial aspect does not undermine the relationship between club and country.

"This remains perfectly aligned to our strategic objective of developing playing talent in Africa," the statement read. 

Jean-Guy Afrika, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board, part of the government, reaffirmed his country's aims.

"This continued partnership with FC Bayern helps ensure that talent development remains anchored in our broader vision to position Rwanda as a global hub for tourism, investment and high-performance sport," he said.

PSG, Arsenal and Atletico now face questions

Other clubs with ties to Rwanda have also been silent on the issues raised by Kayikwamba Wagner, with PSG extending their deal in April and Atletico Madrid signing on to have Visit Rwanda as their main shirt sponsor for men's and women's teams in the same month. They, too, may now come under renewed pressure to follow Bayern's lead.

The commercial aspect of the Rwanda deal was believed to be worth about €5 million ($5.8 million) a year to the Bundesliga champions.

But any loss had already been offset by a similar deal with Emirates airline, owned and operated by the government of the United Arab Emirates announced on Wednesday. Given that country's human rights record, that too seems likely to spark controversy.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold