Borussia Dortmund have signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall.
The logo of the arms company will be displayed on Dortmund’s licensed products ahead of the club’s Champions League final against Real Madrid on June 1 and will be displayed on stadium advertising boards and during press conferences — but it will not appear on players’ shirts.
The German club say the agreement will see Rheinmetall gain “the use of wide-reaching advertising space, marketing rights and event and hospitality arrangements in the stadium and on the club grounds”.
It is the first time that a Bundesliga club have agreed a sponsorship with a German defence company.
Based in the German city of Dusseldorf — 70km to the south west of Dortmund — Rheinmetall is the largest ammunition manufacturer in Europe, producing a variety of armoured fighting vehicles and combat drones.
“Security and defence are fundamental cornerstones of our democracy,” said Hans-Joachim Watzke, chair of the club, which is playing in the Champions League final on Sunday. “Especially today, when we see every day how freedom must be defended in Europe. We should deal with this new (normal).”
Taking responsibility: @RheinmetallAG wird „Champion Partner“ des BVB
🗯️ „Sicherheit und Verteidigung sind elementare Eckpfeiler unserer Demokratie. Deshalb halten wir es für die richtige Entscheidung, uns sehr intensiv damit zu beschäftigen, wie wir diese Eckpfeiler schützen.… pic.twitter.com/EwWy0r0HLD
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) May 29, 2024
Rheinmetall’s chief executive officer Armin Papperger has said the company “share similiar attitudes, ambitions and origins” as Dortmund.
Dortmund’s official fan group have clarified that while it had dialogue with the club ahead of the announcement, it had expressed its concerns and opposition to any agreement — and denied suggestions that a vote had been held on the matter.
The German Peace Society — a pacifist group whose managing director Michael Schulze von Glasser is a Dortmund fan — has demanded that the club terminate the agreement.
“I am very shocked. I would never have expected that BVB would even consider entering into a partnership with an arms company,” said Schulze von Glasser.
He added he was offended both “as a Dortmund fan and peace activist”.
(Ying Tang/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice-chancellor and finance minister, described the deal as “unusual” due to the societal role of football clubs.
Mona Neubaur — the economy minister for the North-Rhein Westphalia area, where Dortmund are based — said of the deal: “Since February 2022 when Putin began his war against the people of Ukraine, it has become clear: we need companies like Rheinmetall to be able to defend our democracy and our freedom in an emergency.
“But the arms industry is not like any other and I can understand why Dortmund fans have mixed feelings.”
In 2023, Dortmund generated revenue of €420million, the second-highest in Germany — behind Bayern Munich — and the 12th-highest in European football.
They are aiming to win their second Champions League title, and their first since 1997, against Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
(Philipp Schulze/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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