Bayern Munich Cut Ties With Qatar Airways

Bayern Munich finally canceled their sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, after a series of protest especially among the club’s supporters.

Both parties announced that their five-year partnership would end on June 30 “by mutual agreement” in a joint statement. The partnership had long been contentious due to worries about Qatar’s human rights record.

The joint statement from Bayern Munich and the state-owned airline claims that “the ties that FC Bayern has been able to establish with its supporters in the Arab world through Qatar Airways will remain.”

The newly appointed CEO of Bayern, Jan-Christian Dreesen, claims that Qatar Airways and the club “have worked together successfully and learned from each other.”

While the CEO of Qatar Airways, 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 added.

In connection with alleged human rights breaches, the largest club in Germany has long faced criticism for its ties to Doha and the state-owned airline, particularly in the years leading up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

During the club’s general assembly in 2021, members called for the club’s connections to the Gulf State to be dissolved.