Sportswear giant Puma tears up sponsorship deal with Israel’s national football team after Palestine activists accused company of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank

• Puma said decision was made in 2022, before the Israel-Hamas war broke out

Sportswear giant Puma is terminating its sponsorship deal with the Israeli national football team and will stop outfitting the squad from next year.

The decision was made before the war in Gaza broke out in October, the German clothing company said, following a strategy review at the end of 2022.

It comes after the brand recently came under fire from pro-Palestine activists who accused it of endorsing illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank through its deal with the Israeli FA, which includes teams from the occupied Palestinian territory.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions group (BDS), a Palestinian-led movement which advocates for companies to divest from Israel, has claimed the move as a ‘win’ for their cause.

But Puma has insisted that ‘the decision is based solely on business reasons,’ via a statement made by communications chief Kerstin Neuber on Tuesday.

Puma is terminating its sponsorship deal with the Israeli national football team and will stop outfitting the squad from next year

Israeli armoured personnel carrierss (APCs) move in a column near the Gaza border in southern Israel on October 14, 2023

Puma said the decision was made at the end of 2022 when the company decided to implement its ‘fewer-bigger-better strategy’ and apply it to its marketing campaigns.

‘While two newly signed national teams – including a new statement team – will be announced later this year and in 2024, the contracts of some federations such as Serbia and Israel will expire in 2024,’ it said in a statement.

‘These decisions were taken in 2022 in line with the regular timelines for the design (and) development of the team jerseys,’ they added.

The deal with Israel, which was signed in 2018, prompted calls from BDS and other activists to boycott the sportswear brand.

BDS had called for consumers to boycott the brand over its sponsorship of the Israeli team before the war erupted following the October 7 Hamas atrocities in southern Israel. 

Intense Israeli bombardments and a ground offensive in Gaza has killed at least 18,400 people,  according to the Hamas-run health ministry (file image)

However, boycott calls have grown stronger and expanded to more firms and products following Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Intense Israeli bombardments and a ground offensive in Gaza has killed at least 18,400 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. 

There has also been an increase in Israeli settler violence towards Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the war broke out.

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