Puma will end its sponsorship of the Israeli national soccer team next year, the decision was first reported by newspaper outlet The Financial Times, on Tuesday, citing an internal communication accessed from the company.
According to the FT, which quotes a spokesperson for the German sportswear firm, this is a business decision taken before the Hamas terrorist massacre of October 7: "The contracts of some federations such as Serbia and Israel will expire in 2024," the communication indicates.
In this sense, the decision was apparently made in 2022 as part of Puma's new strategy and was in line with the usual design and development deadlines for the teams' jerseys, the spokesperson added.
However, the pro-Hamas Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement had already called for a boycott of the sportswear company before the October 7 attack over its sponsorship of the Israeli team. Now they are celebrating Puma's decision as a victory.
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. pic.twitter.com/E5YJpU295N
— PACBI - BDS movement (@PACBI) December 12, 2023
