Due to Shell partnership: HSV fans hit out at club management! | OneFootball

Parts of HSV's active fan scene have voiced strong criticism of the club's management – and this is not the first time.

In a detailed statement titled “Sponsors, Stance, and Social Sustainability at HSV,” the Förderkreis Nordtribüne e.V. put forward several demands to the club. In particular, they question existing sponsorship partnerships.

The main focus of the criticism is the fundamental direction of the club. The fans ask, “which values HSV should represent – and whether these are still credibly upheld today.” The club must act independently and “take a clear stance,” the statement says. While they acknowledge the economic pressures in professional football, they argue that, in the context of promotion to the Bundesliga, “the balance is increasingly being lost.”

The fan organization is especially outspoken regarding the extended partnership with Shell. In July of last year, the promoted club announced an expansion of their cooperation. This move “massively disappointed” the group. Shell, they say, “stands worldwide for the systematic exploitation of natural resources, problematic working conditions in extraction regions, the delay of climate goals, and targeted disinformation.”

The fact that HSV simultaneously presents this cooperation as a sustainability measure is described by the Förderkreis as a “classic example of greenwashing.” Individual projects such as e-charging stations, in the fans’ view, “cannot replace a credible strategy.”

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HSV fans make clear demands!

In addition to the energy sponsor, the entry of Sparda-Bank as a shareholder in HSV Fußball AG is also viewed critically. The Förderkreis sees this as a contradiction to previously established guidelines for investors. Anyone who sets such rules must “especially apply them when it becomes uncomfortable,” they say. As a possible consequence, the fans suggest that shares should in the future be transferred to a “value-compatible shareholder.”

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Beyond individual cases, the Förderkreis identifies a structural problem. HSV currently lacks “a binding, lived-out mission statement” that links economic decisions with social responsibility. Sponsorships are evaluated primarily financially, not in terms of content.

Finally, the fans formulate several demands, including new guidelines for sponsors, greater transparency in economic decisions, and a clear distancing from partnerships they consider problematic. At the same time, the Förderkreis signals willingness to engage in dialogue. “Of course, we are always ready to participate in shaping a mission statement. There are examples of sponsorships at HSV that already align with such a mission statement today,” the supporters concluded conciliatorily.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.