Two years after ending their relationship with Qatar Airways amid fan protests, have signed a new partnership with Emirates, the airline owned and operated by the .
The agreement, announced on Wednesday, is similar to the one the tourist board of the African country, and will encompass pitchside advertising as well as what Bayern call “joint activations on both companies’ social and digital channels.” Unlike in their , the German champions make no mention of any football academy in the UAE.
Emirates, who reportedly missed out on Bayern’s shirt sponsorship, are a familiar presence in sport. The airline has deals of various prominence in place with Arsenal, Real Madrid and Lyon among others and sponsor the English FA Cup, the oldest national cup competition in football. They also have deals in place in many other sports and were previously a shirt sponsor for Hamburg in the Bundesliga.
Michael Ott, a German lawyer who , is disappointed that history is repeating itself.
“It is deceptive but in the end probably makes sense given that my impression was always that the but because Qatar didn’t want to continue anymore.
‘I feel ashamed for Bayern’
“So now they’re doing the exact same thing once again. With the difference that the situation of migrant workers in UAE is probably even worse than in Qatar,” he told DW. “It’s impossible to justify an advertisement contract for a company belonging to such a state. I feel ashamed for Bayern.”
A 2024 report from Amnesty International said the country, made up of seven emirates including Dubai, was “criminalizing the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly” also noting its “strong economic relations with Israel amid the armed conflict in Gaza” and the use of “prolonged solitary confinement against prisoners in the mass trial of Emirati dissidents as a means of coercion and punishment.”
Michael Diederich, Bayern’s deputy chairman, talked up the financial advantages of the deal, thought to be worth €5 million ($5.8 million) a year to the club, which recently spent from Livepool.
“FC Bayern is very pleased to have gained a strong and shining partner in Emirates, which has been a committed supporter of club football in Europe for decades,” he said. “FC Bayern also needs financial planning security to achieve its sporting goals, so Emirates is an ideal fit for our club’s family of partners.”
That family of partners also includes long term deals with German firms Adidas, Allianz and Audi, who each own a stake in the club. These make up the club’s so-called “main partners,” alongside shirt sponsor Deutsche Telekom. Emirates now sit in the “platinum” tier just beneath with betting site Betano, Crypto platform Bitpanda and Visit Rwanda, among others.
Bayern Munich tight lipped on Rwanda
Bayern, along with fellow Visit Rwanda partners, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, came in for criticism in February, when calling for an end to “blood-stained sponsorship deals with this oppressor nation” in relation to the conflict between the two countries, where a fragile ceasefire currently holds.
DW has , and those from the club’s own fans, including for this story, but no reply has been received.
The club’s website states that one of Bayern’s “Guiding Principles” is: “We also show respect for diversity, acknowledge our responsibility to society, and always take a clear stance.”
Anaise Kanimba, a human rights advocate and daughter of , whose life was made in to the film Hotel Rwanda, told DW in May that the current position does not entirely conform.
“I would say that if they stand for peace in human rights then they should be able to , and supporting the people of the DRC does not mean putting ‘Visit Rwanda’ on your shirt,” she said.
“This is a country that is invading another foreign country, and you do not want to be in bed with a country that’s invading another country. Would you want to be in bed with Russia?
“If the answer is no, then you shouldn’t be in bed with Rwanda. So my call to action is just stand up for your values because you cannot have a double standard.”
The grip of countries with questionable human rights records on football gets tighter by the year. The UAE also owns Manchester City while Qatar Airways sponsor the and the Qatari ruling family Germany until recently has generally held firm in this regard, but Bayern appear now to be opening the door ever further.
Edited by : Chuck Penfold
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