FC Bayern will not extend the controversial contract with the airline Qatar Airways. The club announced on Wednesday on his website. The statement states that the contract will end by mutual agreement after five years. The partnership has existed since 2018 and is said to have brought Bayern 20 million euros per season. It expires on June 30th.
“FC Bayern Munich and Qatar Airways have worked together successfully and learned from each other. I would like to thank Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, for that. We wish all Qatar Airways employees all the best for the future,” he said Quote Bavaria’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen in the statement.
Just two weeks ago, club president Herbert Hainer reported talks about a possible extension. “In addition to the financial and legal aspects, we are also concerned with the social aspects,” he said, announcing: “We’ll talk to Qatar Airways and then we’ll see what comes out.”
Fans in Munich’s south curve, where many of the organized supporters are standing, protested persistently against Qatar Airways’ sponsorship. The poster shows Oliver Kahn (left), former CEO of FC Bayern, and Herbert Hainer, current president of the club.
(Photo: Markus Ulmer/Ulmer Pressebildage/imago)
The contract between Bavaria and the state airline of the emirate caused some heavy criticism in parts of the Munich fan scene, especially among organized fans. The defensive handling of the issue by those responsible led to an escalation at the club’s annual general meeting in 2021. The reason for criticism was the controversial human rights situation in Qatar, the host country of the 2022 World Cup. FC Bayern repeatedly emphasized that it was in dialogue with Qatar and thus contribute to improving the situation. In addition to the sponsorship, the Munich side have also been traveling regularly to the winter training camp in Doha since 2011, most recently in January of this year. However, the training camps are not linked to the sponsorship contract.