Berlin, July 5: Bayern Munich is realizing that all publicity is not necessarily good publicity. Bayern’s chief executive, Oliver Kahn, defended the German football club’s contentious sponsorship agreement with Qatar on Monday, saying he was sure their partnership had helped bring positive change to the oil-rich Persian Gulf state.
“I think very much has happened,” Kahn said at a panel discussion hosted by Bayern to answer its fans’ concerns over Qatar’s involvement in the club.
“Because we’re sitting here today and discussing this very important topic.” Kahn referred to “many meetings” that Bayern had had with Qatari officials and said “sports can change a lot.” But pressed on what exactly had been achieved, Kahn was unable to give examples of any concrete action taken by the club or by Qatar to improve working conditions for migrant workers in the country.
Qatar is due to host the football World Cup later this year, but the buildup has been marred by allegations of human rights abuses against migrant workers with thousands of unexplained deaths and widespread exploitation of laborers.
Kahn said Bayern had recently met with Qatari officials in London and that he spoke to them about diversity and tolerance. “These are the discussions that are very, very important to me personally,” Kahn said.
“I think that’s how we can move forward step by step.” (AP)