- Puma will cease sponsoring Israel’s national football team in 2024. The world’s third-largest sportswear company will discontinue the provision of kits to the squad.
- The sportswear firm, citing a “fewer-bigger-better strategy, disclosed that contracts with various federations, including Israel, will not be renewed, and new agreements with national teams are imminent.
Puma is set to discontinue its sponsorship of Israel’s national football team in 2024, as revealed by a company representative. This decision, planned since the previous year, is explicitly unrelated to ongoing consumer calls for boycotting Israel amid the escalation of events in Gaza, the spokesperson for the German sportswear firm clarified on Tuesday.
Despite persistent boycott requests over Puma’s affiliation with the Israel Football Association (IFA), the decision remains unaffected by escalated appeals during Israel’s two-month offensive in Gaza, which has resulted in over 18,000 Palestinian casualties.
According to a statement sent to Reuters, Puma disclosed that contracts with various federations, including Serbia and Israel, are scheduled to expire in 2024 and will not be renewed. The spokesperson further revealed Puma’s forthcoming announcement of new agreements with several national teams, aligning with its “fewer-bigger-better strategy.”
An internal memo from Puma, reported by the Financial Times, substantiates these upcoming changes. The memo outlines Puma’s commitment to reviewing existing partnerships and exploring upcoming opportunities to maintain a robust portfolio of national teams.
In addition, the memo also states how from the end of next year, the world’s third-largest sportswear company will discontinue the provision of kits to the squad.
Puma initiated its contract with the IFA for player kits in 2018. Throughout this period, the company has faced sustained pressure from activists who argue that the IFA includes teams located in Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank, considered illegal under international law.
