For many years there has been political, economic and cultural exchange between Germany and Qatar. In 2018, Chancellor Angela Merkel called for more cooperation with Qatar at the German-Qatari Business Forum. Qatar announced plans to invest €10 billion in Germany. Qatar is an important anchor state in the Gulf. Qatar supplies gas to Germany and invests in German companies that create secure jobs, for example with Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank and Siemens.

Anyone who takes a balanced view of Qatar’s development since the hosting rights for the FIFA World Cup were awarded will realise that the international publicity and the upcoming World Cup in particular have changed the country for the better.

Certainly a lot of things in Qatar do not yet meet our European standards. But the United Nations agency International Labour Organisation (ILO), the German Embassy in Doha or representatives of the EU also confirm Qatar’s positive development in recent years. No-one will say that Qatar is a country where all Western European standards are met. However, many say that the country is on the right track, that it is the “frontrunner” in the Gulf.

FC Bayern stands confidently for the democratic culture of Germany and Europe. However, nothing happens overnight, and no development is possible without first and sometimes small steps. Sport in particular can take these small steps.

The world is somewhat more complicated than some people make it out to be. Do you want to achieve change by dividing the world into black and white? Or through social and political dialogue, economic exchange and patient conversation? There are examples of both. We have chosen dialogue, because we think this way is more convincing.

FC Bayern’s forms of dialogue

• Women’s first team holding their winter training camp with an Equality Program that promotes women’s sports and equal rights in Qatar. Actions, including players visiting schools, children training with FC Bayern coaches, visiting Qatari museums with exchange, information event with ILO representatives, organisation of discussions with prominent women in Qatari society with support from the German Embassy in Doha.
• Regular exchange with the ILO office in Doha.
• Organisation of a round table with the head of the World Cup organising committee, Hasan Al-Thawadi, which will take place in Munich before the 2022 World Cup.

February 2021, Bayern Munich