Dockers and Woodside ink two-year sponsorship extension

The Fremantle Dockers have extended a sponsorship deal with oil and gas major Woodside for another two years.

The deal comes despite a concerted campaign of climate activists within the Dockers’ membership base to scrap the long-running partnership over concerns it was helping Woodside “greenwash” its public image.

The Dockers will keep Woodside as a sponsor until 2027.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

Woodside has sponsored the Fremantle Dockers for more than 15 years, but its involvement in the club was thrust into the spotlight last year when a petition of 8000 signatures was handed to the club urging it to ditch the company over climate concerns.

The club eventually agreed to extend the deal until 2025, but the controversy surrounding it has made it a central focus in the debate around sports teams and cultural institutions accepting sponsorships from fossil fuel companies in the face of a warming climate.

The new deal announced Thursday will see the partnership extended until 2027, including the rollout of a school program in the Pilbara from next year.

Fremantle Dockers president Chris Sutherland said the extension underscored the two organisations’ strength and alignment of values.

“Woodside has been an integral part of our club for more than 15 years, contributing not only to our success on and off the field but also to our ability to make a meaningful difference in the community,” he said.

“The upcoming school programs in the Pilbara reflect our shared vision to enrich regional communities and create opportunities for young people.

“This initiative, alongside our Next Generation Academy and Reconciliation Action Plan efforts, is a testament to the impact this partnership continues to have across WA.”

Sutherland said the partnership also included annual discussions between Woodside, players and staff about the energy transition.

“These discussions are an example of how this partnership goes far beyond a logo on a jumper,” he said.

Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said both parties were great WA-based organisations that strived for excellence, focused on sustainability, cared for their team-mates and contributed to the community.

“Our partnership enables the club to deliver impactful programs such as the Next Generation Academy and the Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan, which support education, inclusion, and community development across Western Australia, especially in regional and remote areas,” she said.

WA Greens candidate and Dockers member Sophie McNeill has led the charge against the sponsorship and has met with Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick and Sutherland – before he became president – alongside renowned climate scientist Bill Hare to press their case.

McNeill said the new deal was shameful, though not surprising, and the club would continue to suffer the reputational risk of being partnered with a “toxic company that’s increasingly losing its social licence to operate”.

“I pity the players who will be forced to continue to play each week with the name of Australia’s largest climate criminal plastered on their backs,” she said.

McNeill said the club’s decision to extend the sponsorship deal would not be easily forgotten by members, particularly younger ones, who cared deeply about climate change.

Conservation Council of WA’s fossil fuel programs manager Anna Chapman said the Dockers had locked in a dangerous reputational risk by extending the partnership.

“Woodside plan to process gas for export to 2070, which would make the Burrup Hub the most polluting [project] in the Southern Hemisphere,” she said.

“Only a few weeks ago, scores of Dockers fans protested the current partnership with Woodside outside the annual members meeting.

“At a time when public pressure for meaningful climate action is intensifying, this partnership sends the wrong message, especially to the thousands of fans who care deeply about protecting our environment.”

Chapman also took aim at the new Pilbara school program, noting climate change “driven by companies like Woodside, will make regions like the Pilbara increasingly uninhabitable”.

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