Sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways divides flagship club Bayern Munich

• Job Urbach

  foreign publisher

It has become clear that this World Cup is under heavy pressure on Western countries to make a statement about the abuses in Qatar. The same goes for German squad. But where the German Football Association has been especially criticized in recent months, the relationship between fans and management of FC Bayern Munich has long been tense. Reason: the sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways.

Qatar Airways has been a sponsor of Bayern since 2018. The south German club is said to receive around €20 million a year from the Qatari airline. In return, the logo of the state-owned company adorns the sleeve of Germany’s largest club.

The deal expires at the end of this season, in the summer of 2023. And so the question now at stake is the record champion: extend or stop?

Many fans like to see the latter. The fans have already made themselves heard with various actions in the Allianz Arena, home of Bayern. And there was also a lot of criticism at the club’s annual meeting in October.

One of the speakers was Michael Ott. As a fan, he actively campaigned for several years to terminate the sponsorship deal and became the voice of the critical section of Bayern fans.

“We ask the board not to renew the sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways. It is a state-owned company which does not fit Bayern Munich’s values,” Ott said.

Ott and his supporters are in direct opposition to two influential club icons: Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. The honorary president and former president are both vocal supporters of the partnership with Qatar Airways.

Last year, Rummenigge indicated that Bayern had made good money from sponsoring Qatar. The money from the deal allows the club to invest in good players and thus continue to compete with the top European leaders.

When it comes to human rights in Qatar, Rummenigge said that “these have been improved by football”. Hoeneß agrees, at the same time pointing out that conditions in other countries of the region are worse than in Qatar. He therefore calls the criticism of the collaboration hypocritical.

The annual meeting last October clashed the Uli with Michael Ott on the Qatar issue. “This is FC Bayern Munich and not the general meeting of Amnesty International,” grumbled Hoeneß.

“I find it childish and unprofessional. I tried to talk to him, but he wasn’t interested. It’s very bad that he simply doesn’t show any interest in human rights,” Ott replies to the confrontation with Hoeneß.

In the end, it is neither the fans nor the legends of the club with their prestige who make the decisions. Accountability rests with President Herbert Hainer and President Oliver Kahn. And it’s still not a done deal for them.

Kahn and Hainer acknowledge the commercial interests of an expanded deal with Qatar Airways, but also note that fans are “very critical of the sponsorship deal”. For the moment, this leads them to leave the discussion open and to make a decision postponed until after the World Cup.

That things aren’t getting any easier for the board is also evident from the fact that players, who aren’t known for their outspoken opinions, are also drawn into the debate. Like Leon Goretzka, midfielder and cornerstone of both Bayern Munich and the national team.

He has been critical of Qatar in several interviews. Responding to homophobic statements by a Qatar World Cup ambassador who claimed that homosexuality is a mental defect, Goretzka called the statement “completely unacceptable”. According to him, the statements reflect “a world view of another millennium”.

In a ZDF documentary on Qatar’s awarding of the World Cup, Goretzka was asked if he hopes the partnership with Qatar Airways will be terminated. “Personally I wouldn’t be against it.”

Goretzka has also indicated that he wants to make a statement at the World Cup itself. Exactly what he kept for himself in front of the ZDF. This afternoon at 14:00 the World Cup for Mannschaft begins with a match against Japan. Then the eyes in Germany will be focused on Goretzka and his companions.