Ex-first minister’s call for red card on alcohol sponsorship in Scottish sport

FORMER first minister Henry Mcleish has urged Nicola Sturgeon’s Government to call time on alcohol advertisements in sports, after research showed Scotland has more of them in top flight football than most European leagues.

Only Belgium has a higher proportion of alcohol advertising than Scotland, according to Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (Shaap), with half of the country’s Premiership teams having at least one alcohol company as a main sponsor or partner.

Alastair Macgilchrist, chairman of Shaap, said such sponsorship should be banned as his organisation launched its Calling Time campaign.

Mr Mcleish, an avid football fan, said the “very special and unique” commitment shown by supporters to their clubs is “being capitalised on by the alcohol industry”.

He added: “We must find a better way to finance Scottish football, finding sponsors with values that align with sports and community, and that’s why I support today’s call for a ban on alcohol sponsorship of sports.”

Dr Macgilchrist urged the Scottish Government to “break the bond between alcohol and sport by banning alcohol sponsorship of sport in order to protect the health of people in Scotland”.

Shaap has said sport sponsorship provides alcohol companies with an attractive method of reaching a large audience, which can influence how much and how often people drink.

Research carried out by the University of Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health found that 6.4 per cent of sponsorship in Scottish football is from the alcohol industry – far higher than the 2.6% average across all 10 countries investigated.

According to Shaap, countries with laws restricting alcohol marketing and sponsorship have comparatively less alcohol sponsorship in their top-flight clubs.

Currently in the UK, alcohol marketing and sport sponsorship is self-regulated, but the Scottish Government is set to consult on plans to restrict alcohol marketing.

Tom Bennett, of the Scottish Recovery Consortium, said selfregulation is not working.

“Sponsorship is triggering and makes us drink and it’s extremely effective,” he said. “That’s why the industry invest so much money in it.

“Sports sponsorship sends completely the wrong message, especially to our children, that healthy activity is associated with alcohol.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We would encourage sporting organisations to diversify sponsorship away from the alcohol industry because it encourages young people to drink alcohol and can have a detrimental impact on those in recovery from problem drinking.

“We will shortly issue a public consultation setting out potential restrictions on alcohol advertising.”