Dear Friend,

The United Arab Emirates—the main patron of Sudan’s genocidal Rapid Support Forces—is the headline sponsor of the NBA’s in-season tournament, the Emirates Cup. 

Azerbaijan, a corrupt and autocratic petrostate, hosts the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Baku. Rwanda, whose proxy, M23, continues to terrorize eastern Congo, hosted this year’s cycling World Championship and sponsors several European football clubs.

These governments are all following the same playbook: investing millions into high-profile sports ventures to launder their international reputation, obscure their human rights abuses, and build global influence.

As part of our work to expose those who profit from corruption and conflict, The Sentry is confronting these “sportswashing” tactics head-on. This year, we:

• Helped build a global coalition of NGOs focused on sportswashing by the UAE and its connection to Sudan’s genocide
• Published opinion pieces in leading outlets, including Foreign Policy and The New York Times
• Partnered in coordinated advocacy campaigns across social media

And we are seeing results. Arsenal’s decision to drop its “Visit Rwanda” sponsorship in response to atrocities in eastern Congo is an early but significant victory. It shows that when the truth is brought to light, clubs and brands will reconsider relationships that legitimize abusive regimes.

With your support, we will double down on this strategy in 2026. And right now, you can double down on supporting The Sentry: from now until midnight on New Year’s Eve, all donations will be matched 100%, doubling the impact.

I hope that you will consider making an end-of-year gift today.

Sincerely,

Sasha Lezhnev
Senior Policy Advisor