CrossFireArabia
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement announced that PUMA will terminate its sponsorship of the Israel Football Association (IFA) on December 31, 2024. This decision follows a five-year global boycott campaign launched in 2018, led by 215 Palestinian sports teams, urging PUMA to cut ties with the IFA.
The IFA includes teams based in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem, built on stolen Palestinian land, and actively supports maintaining these settlements.
The boycott campaign, which involved protests, online actions, and high-profile contract terminations, significantly tarnished the brand’s reputation.
During the campaign, activists occupied PUMA offices, sports teams ended contracts, and retailers removed its products. A leaked internal memo and public missteps by executives in the company revealed the campaign’s growing impact. Protests even increased to pressure the company, especially after Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza escalated, leading to widespread condemnation.
In December 2023, PUMA informed the Financial Times it would not renew its IFA contract. This rare public announcement, a year in advance, highlighted the pressure PUMA faced from pro-Palestine activists worldwide.
Starting January 1, 2025, Italian brand Erreà will replace PUMA as the IFA’s sponsor, but with a 40% lower sponsorship fee, signaling difficulties in securing a replacement.
The BDS movement called on Erreà to withdraw from the sponsorship, warning of complicity in Israel’s war crimes and genocide, as determined by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Activists vowed to target Erreà if it proceeds with the contract.
The Boycott PUMA campaign demonstrates the power of collective action in holding corporations accountable for ties to human rights violations according to the Quds News Network.
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