Out of! Out of! The partnership is over – and over! The retail group Rewe put the cooperation agreement with the German Football Association on hold “with immediate effect”. The group announced this on Tuesday.
The company wants to clearly distance itself from the attitude of the world association Fifa and the statements made by President Gianni Infantino. The reason: the scandal surrounding wearing – or rather not wearing – the “One Love” bandage. The German team and other teams in the tournament had decided not to wear the armband for fear of the consequences. This unleashed a storm of disappointment and indignation.
FIFA has threatened sanctions against players wearing a “One Love” armband at the World Cup in Qatar.
“We stand for diversity – and football is diversity, too,” said REWE Group CEO Lionel Souque. “FIFA’s scandalous stance is totally unacceptable to me as the CEO of a diverse company and as a football fan.” For Rewe, football is, among other things, fair play, tolerance and cohesion – we want to uphold these values.
That is why the contract with the DFB is now being terminated prematurely.
However, this cooperation would not have continued for long anyway. Rewe had already informed the DFB in October that it would not continue the long-term partnership agreement – at that time there was still no connection to the World Cup in terms of content. According to a Rewe spokesman, the contract would have expired on December 31 of this year – in just under a month. Rewe was a partner of the DFB for around ten years.
The decision of the Cologne group means one thing above all: renunciation of advertising rights. “Rewe is not a World Cup partner with the DFB, but has rights to logo presence on the one hand and the right to advertise with the DFB around the World Cup on the other,” said the spokesman when asked by stern.
For Rewe, the end of the partnership also means the end of advertising revenue. “The advertising value of measures planned but not implemented is in the lower seven-digit range.”
The scrapbook currently available from Rewe will be given away free of charge with immediate effect, with the company bearing the costs. “We also waive the income from the sale of the scrapbook, which we are now giving away for free. We will donate the theoretically raised amount,” said the Rewe spokesman.
But there is a consolation for the DFB. Despite the move, Rewe expressly wishes the German national team and all players every success for the World Cup. “We stand by your side and root for you!” Said Souque.
Rewe in Germany includes the Rewe and Penny supermarkets, the Toom DIY stores and tour operators such as Dertour, ITS and Meiers Weltreisen. The group also operates hotel brands such as Aldiana and Calimera. 380,000 people work for Rewe in 21 European countries
