Borussia Dortmund is ending its controversial partnership with arms manufacturer Rheinmetall and will let the existing sponsorship contract expire. With this move, the Bundesliga club is responding to sustained opposition from its own supporters and members.
As the club announced on Friday afternoon, the agreement, which runs until June 30, 2027, will not be extended beyond that date.
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The Düsseldorf-based DAX-listed company, which employs nearly 38,000 people, currently features as a “Champion Partner” of the Black and Yellows and on pitchside advertising boards, but not on the players’ shirts.
The partnership brought BVB a sum in the high single-digit millions each year. Nevertheless, the deal had been fiercely controversial within the club since it was announced.
Reflecting on the decision a few days ago on the AUSGERECHNET podcast, club president and former CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke struck a self-critical note: “That is something I personally may have misjudged at the time,” he admitted, adding: “I remain convinced that Rheinmetall is a company that reflects well on Germany. But I underestimated how many Dortmund supporters, decent people, would tell me: ‘We are not against Rheinmetall. We just don’t want Borussia Dortmund advertising for someone who makes weapons.'” While he did not have to “share that position,” Watzke said, “I fully respect it.”
Carsten Cramer, who was himself considered a supporter of the partnership, admitted on Friday that this step “had not been easy” for him: “But if we take such a clear stand in favour of 50+1, and BVB’s cohesion and unity matter as much to you as they do to me, then you also have to engage with all our stakeholders’ perspectives and considerations and ultimately make a decision.”
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
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