Cooperation with airline: DFB negotiates with Qatar Airways


Cooperation with the airline
DFB negotiates with Qatar Airways

The German Football Association is to seek cooperation with Qatar Airways. The negotiations should already be underway, according to a report. The national soccer team recently caused a stir with human rights campaigns because of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Before the qualifying game against Iceland in March for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the DFB-Elf set a very special example: They spelled “HUMAN RIGHTS” (human rights) on their T-shirts. The national team wanted to draw attention to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights of the United Nations – the day before the Norwegian national team had already done so. This was interpreted as an explicit sign in the direction of Qatar. This was followed by a human rights video, clear positioning by Toni Kroos and Manuel Neuer’s diversity captain’s armband at the European Championship. Clear signals.

According to information from the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ), the DFB is now considering a cooperation with Qatar Airways. With reference to “several sources from political and economic circles”, the “SZ” reports that the DFB is currently in negotiations with the state airline of the World Cup host from 2022. The DFB in the person of Marketing Director Holger Blask commented on the content of the newspaper Not. Qatar Airways fell through one in the past discriminatory treatment of employees on.

Miserable human rights record

Qatar is an emirate with an extremely poor human rights record, although there have been small improvements in recent years. Freedom of expression, an international human rights standard, is still severely restricted there. Equality between women and men doesn’t even exist on paper. In addition, people are discriminated against and persecuted because of their religion, sexual self-determination or sexual orientation. The age of criminal responsibility is seven years. In addition, there are the millions of guest workers who are building the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup and living in slave-like conditions.

Qatar Airways sponsors, among other things, the European Football Union (UEFA), the world association FIFA, Bayern Munich (there are ten million euros per year for this) and Paris St. Germain, which is owned by the state-owned Qatar Sports Investments. For this purpose, FC Bayern holds the annual winter training camp in Doha and has a sponsorship deal with Hamad International Airport – there were also more reports about this slave-like employment.

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