Bayern Munich Emirates deal follows Rwanda controversy

Bayern Munich have become the latest top-level football club to sign a deal with UAE-owned airline Emirates. The German champions are talking up the financial benefits but some think there is more to consider.

Two years after ending their relationship with Qatar Airways amid fan protests, Bayern Munich has signed a new partnership with Emirates, the airline owned and operated by the United Arab Emirates.

The agreement, announced on Wednesday, is similar to the one the football club has with Visit Rwanda, the tourist board of the African country, and will encompass pitchside advertising as well as what Bayern calls "joint activations on both companies' social and digital channels." Unlike in their deal with Rwanda, the German champions make no mention of any football academy in the UAE.

Emirates, which reportedly missed out on Bayern's shirt sponsorship, is a familiar presence in football. The airline has deals of various prominence in place with Arsenal, Real Madrid and Lyon, among others, and sponsor the English FA Cup, the oldest national cup competition in football. They also have deals in place in many other sports and were previously a shirt sponsor for Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

'I feel ashamed for Bayern'

Michael Ott, a German lawyer who led fan protests against the Qatar Airways sponsorship, is disappointed that history is repeating itself.

"It is deceptive but, in the end, probably makes sense given that my impression was always that the Qatar deal wasn't ended thanks to a shift in the mindset of Bayern officials but because Qatar didn't want to continue anymore.

"So now they're doing the exact same thing once again. With the difference that the situation of migrant workers in UAE is probably even worse than in Qatar," he told DW. "It's impossible to justify an advertisement contract for a company belonging to such a state. I feel ashamed for Bayern."

A 2024 report from Amnesty International said the country, made up of seven emirates including Dubai, was "criminalizing the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly" also noting its "strong economic relations with Israel amid the armed conflict in Gaza" and the use of "prolonged solitary confinement against prisoners in the mass trial of Emirati dissidents as a means of coercion and punishment."

Bayern Munich held up a banner that read: 'Visit Rwanda — whoever looks on with indifference is betraying the values of FC Bayern!' Image: Oryk Haist/IMAGO

Michael Diederich, Bayern's deputy chairman, talked up the financial advantages of the deal, thought to be worth €5 million ($5.8 million) annually to the club, which recently spent €70 million on signing Colombian forward Luis Diaz from Livepool.

"FC Bayern is very pleased to have gained a strong and shining partner in Emirates, which has been a committed supporter of club football in Europe for decades," he said. "FC Bayern also needs financial planning security to achieve its sporting goals, so Emirates is an ideal fit for our club's family of partners."

That family of partners also includes long-term deals with German firms Adidas, Allianz and Audi, who each own a stake in the club. These comprise the club's so-called "main partners," alongside shirt sponsor Deutsche Telekom. Emirates now sit in the "platinum" tier just beneath with betting site Betano, Crypto platform Bitpanda and Visit Rwanda, among others.

Bayern Munich tight lipped on Rwanda

Bayern, along with fellow Visit Rwanda partners, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, came in for criticism in February, when DR Congo's Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner wrote to clubs calling for an end to "blood-stained sponsorship deals with this oppressor nation" in relation to the conflict between the two countries, where a fragile ceasefire currently holds.

DW has contacted Bayern three times to get comment on these criticisms, and those from the club's own fans, including for this story, but no reply has been received.

The club's website states that one of Bayern's "Guiding Principles" is: "We also show respect for diversity, acknowledge our responsibility to society and always take a clear stance."

Anaise Kanimba, a Rwandan human rights advocate and daughter of Paul Rusesabagina, whose life was made into the film "Hotel Rwanda," told DW in May that the current position does not entirely conform.

Is the US-brokered Rwanda-Congo deal for peace or payoff? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

"I would say that if they stand for peace in human rights, then they should be able to support the people from the DRC, and supporting the people of the DRC does not mean putting 'Visit Rwanda' on your shirt," she said.

"This is a country that is invading another foreign country, and you do not want to be in bed with a country that's invading another country. Would you want to be in bed with Russia?

"If the answer is no, then you shouldn't be in bed with Rwanda. So my call to action is just stand up for your values because you cannot have a double standard."

The grip of countries with questionable human rights records on football gets tighter by the year. The UAE also owns Manchester City while Qatar Airways sponsor the Champions League and the Qatari ruling family own holders Paris Saint-Germain. Germany until recently has generally held firm in this regard, but Bayern appears now to be opening the door ever further.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold

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