The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, which aims to put pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian lands, announced that German sportswear giant Puma finally ended its contract with the Israel Football Association (IFA) after a long-running boycott campaign against it.
Hailing the development’s success, the BDS Movement said Puma would end its sponsorship of IFA on Dec. 31, 2024.
“PUMA has been subjected to an effective global boycott campaign since 2018, when 215 Palestinian sports teams called on the German company to end its sponsorship of the IFA. The IFA not only includes teams in illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land in its official leagues, it has also actively advocated to maintain them, together with the Israeli government,” BDS said in a statement.
It continued by saying that Puma came under serious pressure, including the occupation of its offices and shops by activists around the world, while athletes, sports teams and artists ended their contracts with the brand.
BDS noted that a Puma lawyer accidentally told one of its activists that the campaign was making their lives "miserable."
“Later, a leaked internal memo caught PUMA lying while attempting to reassure worried business partners and brand ambassadors about its complicity in Israel’s apartheid regime.”
BDS movement noted that its campaign damaged Puma’s image by associating it with the Israeli apartheid regime and decided not to renew its contract with IFA.
“We thank the many groups around the world that worked tirelessly and relentlessly to force PUMA to end its complicity with Israel’s apartheid regime and in its Gaza genocide,” BDS said.
