Puma will drop the Israeli national soccer team as the club’s official outfitter — a decision the German apparel brand said it made before the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas terrorists that claimed the lives of 1,200 Israelis.
A Puma spokesperson told The Post that the company decided to cut ties with the Israeli national team at the end of last year as part of its new business strategy of “fewer-bigger-better” — which emphasizes sponsorships of bigger clubs at the expense of smaller ones.
The company said that Puma’s contract with Israel’s soccer federation expires in 2024. It has been the official sponsor of the national soccer club since 2018.
News of Puma’s decision was first reported by Financial Times.
Brand names have come under pressure to boycott Israel over its military actions in Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians are said to have been killed since Israel’s military moved to root out Hamas from the enclave.
Puma’s partnership had sparked criticism from activists who claimed the company was endorsing Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank in light of the fact that some of the country’s soccer teams were based there.
Puma denied the claims, saying that its sponsorship was limited to the national level and not club teams.
Pro-Palestinian activists involved in the campaign to encourage boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel claimed their pressure led Puma to make the decision.
But the Israel Football Association denied this, calling it a “pathetic attempt…to mislead.”
The IFA told the Financial Times that it had an option to extend the contract by two years but decided in September not to do so after failing to come to terms with Puma over terms and conditions.
Puma’s move follows a decision last year by Ben & Jerry’s to stop selling its ice cream in the West Bank.
The decision sparked outrage and prompted the brand’s corporate parent, Unilever, to sell the local rights to an Israeli licensee who continues to market the products under the Ben & Jerry’s name.
Founded in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s has long positioned itself as socially conscious. It said in July 2021 that selling ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territories was “inconsistent with our values.”
The Vermont-based ice cream maker sued to block the sale. The companies settled the dispute in December.
With Post Wires