The sponsorship deal between Champions League finalist Borussia Dortmund and the arms company Rheinmetall has been met with fierce criticism from the Left Party in North Rhine-Westphalia. “Sport is supposed to unite people and nations. An advertising contract with a company that is partly responsible for the worst cases of crippling, suffering and death caused by weapons production must not be allowed to serve as a role model in sports education,” said state spokesman Sascha H. Wagner.
The connection was “a bad foul play,” said Wagner: “The arms company lives from the business of death.” The association is therefore called upon “in view of the current escalations in war, to reverse this immoral deal.”
On Wednesday, BVB and Rheinmetall announced their collaboration over the next three years. A spokesman for the Düsseldorf-based company declined to comment on the financial volume. The partnership includes the use of high-reach advertising space, marketing rights, and event and hospitality offers in the stadium and on the club grounds. Rheinmetall will become BVB’s “Champion Partner,” meaning a particularly important financial sponsor. According to BILD, the three-year contract will bring BVB a total of 20 million euros.
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For Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, the arms company’s deal is an expression of a new situation. “The fact that Rheinmetall is now sponsoring a football club is indeed unusual, but it shows where we stand,” said the Green Party politician on Wednesday.
The minister, who is also responsible for arms exports, said that they are in constant contact with Rheinmetall so that the company produces even more ammunition to support Ukraine. “We know and unfortunately have to admit that we are in a different, more threatening world.” That is why “the practiced and understandable restraint” in public dealings with the arms industry is no longer tenable and is correct, said Habeck. “In this respect, this sponsorship certainly reflects the reality of the changing times to some extent.”
Watzke points out cornerstones of democracy
The Federal Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for sports, did not want to comment on the Rheinmetall-BVB deal. As a matter of principle, the ministry does not comment on sponsorship agreements between sports clubs, said a ministry spokesman.
BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke pointed out that security and defense are cornerstones of democracy. “That’s why we think it’s the right decision to focus very intensively on how we can protect these cornerstones.” We are looking forward to the collaboration and are “consciously opening ourselves up to a discourse as Borussia Dortmund.” Rheinmetall boss Armin Papperger was satisfied. “With BVB and Rheinmetall, we have found two partners who are a good fit with each other in terms of their ambitions, their attitudes and their backgrounds,” said the defense manager.
BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke
Quelle: pa/firo Sportphoto/Ralf Ibing
The discussion mentioned by Watzke could come at an inopportune time for Dortmund and distract from sporting issues before the Champions League final on Saturday against Real Madrid (9 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker). “There is only one topic left now, and that is this final,” BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl said on Tuesday: “I would like us to concentrate on this game.”
Criticism from BVB fans and pacifists
It is probably the first time that an arms company has sponsored a football club – the Federal Association of the German Security and Defense Industry (BDSV) is not aware of any comparable case. The association welcomed the move. “Sponsorship is a way of giving a broad section of the population the feeling that weapons for maintaining our security and peace are not something ‘unappetizing’, but are simply a normal part of our social reality if we want to live in peace and freedom,” said BDSV General Manager Hans Christoph Atzpodien.
“They must be aware of what they are playing with – Putin threatens to use Western weapons
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened serious consequences if the West gives Ukraine the green light to use its weapons against targets in Russia. “The representatives of NATO countries must be aware of what they are playing with,” Putin told journalists in Uzbekistan.
The reaction from some football fans and other parts of society was negative. The German Peace Society – United War Resisters launched an online petition calling on BVB to back down and issuing a “red card for the advertising deal”. “A weapons manufacturer as a sponsor does not fit with the values that BVB – and football as a whole – represents,” said the pacifists.
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On “X” (formerly Twitter), numerous users expressed their displeasure – for many, the logo of a weapons company has no place on advertising banners at the edge of the pitch. There was also ironic and biting criticism: In a photo montage, a miniature tank could be seen driving onto the edge of the pitch and bringing a football to the referee. The satirical party Die Partei also published a photo montage showing a tank on a football pitch, with the headline: “BVB – we don’t just score goals”.
Rheinmetall already active as a sports sponsor
Sponsoring a sports club is not new territory for the defense company, which also operates as an automotive supplier – Rheinmetall already sponsors the handball club Bergischer HC from Solingen, not far from Düsseldorf. But with the football club and Champions League finalist BVB, Rheinmetall’s sports sponsorship is reaching a different level.
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Germany’s largest arms company, with around 30,000 employees, is on a growth trajectory; after the Russian attack on Ukraine, demand for ammunition, tanks and anti-aircraft guns skyrocketed. Since the beginning of 2022, the order backlog has risen by around 10 billion euros to 24 billion euros, and sales are expected to reach 10 billion euros this year. This would be almost twice as high as in 2021, i.e. before the Ukraine war (5.7 billion euros). The share price has more than quintupled since February 2022. Rheinmetall is important in the defense of Ukraine; the company supplies military goods on a large scale and is paid for this by the federal government.