A spokesman for the major bank ING, main sponsor of Oranje, confirmed a corresponding report in the daily newspaper De Telegraaf.
“The human rights situation in Qatar is the reason why we will not do anything at this tournament,” said the speaker. According to the newspaper, other sponsors such as telecom provider KPN, the supermarket chain Albert Heijn or the Dutch Lottery are also not traveling to the World Cup and would not order tickets for their business contacts either.
ING also does not want to advertise around the World Cup, which takes place from November 21st to December 18th in the desert state. The sponsor wants to concentrate on supporting the Oranje women this year. It is still unclear to what extent the other sponsors will also not run any advertising campaigns.