Dutch companies supporting European Championship after boycotting Qatar World Cup

Dutch companies will be taking part in the European Championships in Germany this year, including many which decided to boycott the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Dutch football sponsors, like ING and Albert Heijn will travel to Oranje’s games as part of their business relations.

Supermarket chain Albert Heijn will go to the group matches with four representatives of business partners and relations. “We will travel to the first game in Hamburg with a bus of 60 franchise entrepreneurs,” a spokesperson said.

ING would not say how many people they are taking to Germany. The bank skipped the tournament in Qatar due to concerns regarding the human rights situation in the country. Normally, the sponsors of Dutch football association KNVB do travel to the high-profile tournament.

Telecom company KPN, an important partner of the KNVB, also did not travel to the tournament in Qatar. This time, the company will follow the team to the matches in Hamburg, Leipzig, and Berlin, with various events where people can watch the matches live.

Beer brewer Heineken also did not travel to the World Cup in Qatar, one of the reasons being that Budweiser sponsored the tournament. The KNVB sponsor will travel to Germany this year.

It had already become clear earlier that companies were focusing on the European Championships with their advertising and marketing campaigns. This was far less prominent during the controversial World Cup in Qatar and the European Championships of 2021, which were heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic.