DFB and Qatar Airways: A sensitive denial – sport


For a week, the German Football Association and Qatar Airways were silent on the growing political debate about a possible advertising partnership between the DFB and the state-owned company on the Gulf. Now Qatar has broken the silence, and the specific question arises as to which side of this liaison was operated. Although the emirate denied any interest in sponsorship on Friday, this was never discussed with the DFB – but the German officials asked for that.

“Contrary to the press reports, there have never been any negotiations or discussions between Qatar Airways and the DFB about sponsorship or other funding,” said the Qatari ambassador in Berlin. One is also “not currently considering starting relevant negotiations”. So not at the moment. But there is still a while until the World Cup at the end of 2022. And even 2021 is far from over for any sponsoring activities.

In addition to the very late date of this denial, in the course of heated debates, especially in political Berlin, other circumstances also suggest that this business relationship had been considered more intensively. First of all, the DFB never denied the issue. One “generally does not comment on conversations with partners”, the Marketing GmbH announced last Friday at the request of SZ, even from the top of the DFB there was only one twisted statement on rumors and confidentiality. But no denial. And even after Qatar’s statement, the association’s internal sources say: months ago, the DFB services reported on this topic at the managing director level. It is all the more interesting that the emirate is now rejecting its own ambitions – but at the same time confirming the facts: It was the DFB who tried to get such a promotional marriage.

“Qatar Airways,” said the official statement on Friday, “was contacted by the DFB with such a request, but this has remained unanswered to this day.”

Did the DFB try to establish this connection? That makes things even more delicate for the association. The latest criticism was not directed explicitly against the emirate, but against plans to transfer the image of German football and its seven million DFB members to a country that is heavily criticized for its human rights situation and other problems. The topic came into international focus again just in the middle of the week. The England-based Business & Human Rights Resource Center reported in detail on cases of forced labor in hotels in Qatar, including “extortionate recruitment fees, discrimination and reprisals”. The Gulf state countered that it had introduced “a number of important reforms” to protect workers.

The current excerpt shows: The topic will remain sensitive, and that will probably continue until the 2022 World Cup. The DFB, whose interest in an advertising deal with Qatar has now been officially shown, was not heard on Friday (until the editorial deadline). The subject should not be off the table yet. After the meeting of their committee last week, members of the Presidium had confirmed that they had been informed of the premature withdrawal of the previous flight partner Lufthansa – this contract was dated until the end of 2022. That is not officially confirmed either.

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