DayofPal– A five-year boycott campaign forced Puma company to terminate its sponsorship contract with the Israeli Football Association by December 31, 2024 according to a statement from the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
BDS movement announced in a post on X on Tuesday that “Following a five-year Boycott Puma campaign, we confirm that Puma will no longer sponsor the Israel Football Association, which includes teams in illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land and advocates to maintain them.”
Since 2018, the German company has faced a global boycott campaign launched by 215 Palestinian sports teams, urging Puma to end its sponsorship of the Israeli association, which includes teams operating in illegal Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian land.
Throughout the campaign, activist groups raided Puma offices and stores in various cities, athletes and artists canceled their contracts with the company, and some stores stopped selling its products.
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.
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