PRO-PALESTINE campaigners stormed a sportswear shop over Puma’s support for the Israeli football team.

Brighton and Hove Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) marched through JD Sports in Churchill Square on Saturday, 12 February.

The group is calling for a boycott of Puma, following news that the sportswear brand is the main sponsor of the Israeli Football Association (IFA).

Protests against Puma took place around the world amid ongoing tensions between Israel and Palestine.

 

A spokesman for Brighton PSC said: “Although in the scheme of things, a few football teams are not the most pressing thing for most Palestinians, it is part of a bigger political structure.”

The global protests were largely organised by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which wants to “end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians”.

Brighton PSC’s demonstrations were held at two of the city’s largest sportwear outlets, Sports Direct in North Street, and JD Sports in Churchill Square.

The Argus: Campaigners calling for a boycott of Puma: "Give Puma the boot!"Campaigners calling for a boycott of Puma: "Give Puma the boot!"

The spokesman added: “Puma, like a lot of brands today, tries to present itself as young and progressive - they talk a lot about supporting Black Lives Matter.

“I don’t know when the sponsorship deal with the IFA is up, but the ideal scenario would be that Puma decides that it wouldn’t want to tender, that they would drop the sponsorship of the Israeli FA.”

The IFA's previous sponsor, Adidas, met with similar protests before the Puma deal was struck. 

Both JD Sports and Puma have been approached for comment.