RSS Feed
December 13th, 2023 
Awake Goy 
Puma SE has announced that it will not renew its contract with the Israel Football Association (IFA) in 2024. The news was first reported by the Financial Times, which obtained internal documents pertaining to the sponsorship deal.
Puma has been a target of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) since the contract was signed in 2018. The Palestinian-led campaign aims to hold Israel accountable to its obligations under international law. The IFA has multiple teams based in illegal West Bank settlements.
“After years of BDS campaigning that has cost German conglomerate Puma dearly in reputation and projects, we have forced it to abandon its sponsorship of the Israel Football Association in this time of Israel’s #GazaGenocide,” tweeted the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
“Palestinians are currently facing unprecedented violence at the hands of the Israeli military. As the world calls for a permanent ceasefire, corporations continue to profit from the killing and destruction,” said Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) Director Ben Jamal in a statement. “We need to end this complicity.”
“PUMA’s decision is an important victory that shows the power of the solidarity movement,” he continued. “We’ve sent all corporations a powerful message: if you choose to be complicit in Israeli apartheid, you will face the strength of the solidarity movement. We will continue to grow our BDS campaigns against banks like Barclays and corporations like JCB, who are complicit in Israel’s system of apartheid.”
Puma denies that the decision had anything to do with the campaign and says that they made the choice prior to the most recent assault on Gaza. “The review of the existing roster of national teams along certain [key performance indicators] such as commercials and participation in major international tournaments led to a few changes,” reads a statement from the company sent to Time.
However, as PACBI notes, the campaign has won a number of victories against the company that have undoubtedly impacted its bottom line. In 2020, Malaysia’s largest university dropped its Puma sponsorship deal, and UK clubs have also been pressured to act. Luton Town FC dropped its deal the same year, and Rovers FC pledged not to sign a contract with them.
Puma’s stores have also been targeted by activists over the sponsorship. In 2021, Lea Kayali, a Palestinian organizer in the Boston area, spoke to Mondoweiss about protests targeting a Puma outlet in the area. “The goal of any BDS campaign is to force people to confront their relationship with Zionism,” she explained. “Its the same goal locally, the campaign is a vehicle to do that. It’s not just about sneakers and jerseys, it’s about confronting the ties we have as taxpayers in this country.”
Hundreds of Palestinian teams and athletes have also called for a boycott. After Puma released a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020, Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Sarsak wondered how the company was condemning racism while “supporting the hate which is destroying lives and poisoning the beautiful game.”
“We cannot pick and choose with racism,” he wrote. “Either we stand against all hate and all violations of rights and humanity, or we are part of the problem. Right now, Puma is part of the problem.”
Before you go – We need your help. Mainstream media’s wilful complicity in the genocide of Palestinian people is a reminder of just how vital our work at Mondoweiss is. This article and our extensive coverage since October 7 have been made possible by readers like you who donate to keep our reporting free and independent.
With your support, we will continue covering the ongoing events in Gaza and across Palestine, as well as amplifying the Palestine movement worldwide. Together, we will make sure to keep reporting Palestinian stories, even when the rest of the world looks away.
Posted in 
Tags: 
