Bayern Munich
Bayern ends patnership with Qatar airways. Bayern Munich said on Wednesday that it would not renew its sponsorship agreement with Qatar Airways, which has long been controversial due to human rights issues in the Gulf country.
Both parties declared in a joint statement that the contract would terminate “by mutual agreement” on June 30 following a five-year relationship.
“The connections that FC Bayern has been able to forge with its fans in the Arab world through Qatar Airways will remain,” according to the statement.
Jan-Christian Dreesen, Bayern’s new CEO, stated that the team and Qatar Airways “have worked successfully and learned from each other.”
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker wished Bayern “all the best for the future.”
“FC Bayern is a great football club whose games we have followed with joy and passion,” he continued.
Germany’s greatest club has long been chastised for its ties to Doha and the state-owned airline over alleged human rights violations, notably in reference to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Members disrupted the club’s 2021 general assembly with boos and chanting calling for the tie with the Gulf state to be severed.
The German national team backtracked on a commitment to wear a “One Love” armband in support of human rights and diversity during last year’s World Cup, blaming the decision on FIFA threats of on-field sanctions.
The German team posed with their hands covering their mouths before the first game of the competition, issuing a statement that they had been silenced by the sport’s regulatory body.