Bayern Munich and Qatar Airways announced on Wednesday that they are ending a sponsorship deal that created tension between the German soccer champion and its fans
According to a joint statement from Bayern and the state-owned airline of Qatar, the sponsorship “ends by mutual agreement on 30 June 2023 after five very exciting years together.”
The football players from Bayern Munich frequently travelled to Qatar for winter training camps, including one in January of this year and they sported the Qatar Airways logo on their sleeves.
Fan groups critical of the human rights record of the 2022 World Cup host nation had campaigned not to renew the contract when it expired at the end of the season.
When officials refused to allow a vote on the sponsorship contract, Bayern fans booed the club’s directors during the club’s 2021 annual general meeting. Bayern management defended the sponsorship, claiming that it had contributed to bringing positive change to Qatar, which had been highly criticised prior to the World Cup for the working conditions of migrant workers.
The end of the agreement follows the loss of one of its strongest supporters at Bayern, Oliver Kahn, who was fired as chief executive last month following a poor season.