Borussia Dortmund’s sponsorship deal with major arms maker set for heated debate at club’s AGM

Borussia Dortmund’s sponsorship deal with an arms maker profiting from wars in Ukraine and elsewhere looks set to be a major topic for discussion at the club’s AGM on Sunday. The Schwatzgelb Dortmund fanzine has published a motion from fan Wilfried Harthan on behalf of the Heinrich Czerkus supporters’ group calling on the club to terminate the deal with Rheinmetall “as soon as possible”, and that it should not be extended beyond the end of its term in 2026 “under any circumstances.” Rheinmetall is the world’s largest maker of artillery ammunition and expects to make record group sales of around 10 billion euros this year. Many Dortmund fans already showed their opposition to the deal with protests around and during the team’s first Bundesliga game of the season in August. Founded in 1889 as “Rheinische Metallwaaren- und Maschinenfabrik Actiengesellschaft,” the Düsseldorf-based company was one of Germany’s biggest armaments manufacturers during both World Wars.