Human rights organizations advised FC Bayern to continue Qatar sponsorship

According to former CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, human rights organizations have advised FC Bayern Munich to continue sponsoring Qatar.

“After the contract was signed in 2018, I flew to Brussels every year, where we met with representatives of human rights organizations,” reported Rummenigge in an interview t-online. “And we always asked the question whether the organizations would recommend ending or continuing this partnership. The answer came unanimously every time: please continue.”

The contract with Qatar Airways ends in 2023. After a lot of criticism from the FC Bayern fan scene, it is still unclear whether it will be extended. Talks between the parties took place during the winter training camp in Doha at the beginning of January. Rummenigge, who resigned in 2021, did not want to “give any advice” to his successor Oliver Kahn in this regard.

Meanwhile, the team started the second half of the season disappointingly with three draws and is only one point ahead of Union Berlin at the top of the table. According to Rummenigge, the new tension is positive for the Bundesliga: “Football is basically defined by emotion. If a club wins the championship ten times in a row, that’s not conducive to it.”

In the championship race, Munich would have economic advantages over the toughest competition. “These clubs have a different philosophy, also due to different economic conditions. Bayern Munich would never sell a Bellingham or an Nkunku. We’ve always had the iron law: a player who is essential for the quality of the team has to stay,” said Rummenigge.

He “still follows his ex-club very closely, but has purposefully no longer sought an official position. Every six to eight weeks I pick up my mail on Säbener Straße, drink an espresso and then I sneak out again. Me I have a very friendly, respectful relationship with those responsible and with the employees and will remain connected to the association forever.”