Health body urges Premier League to look beyond booze brands for sponsors

By Richard Siddle

Published: 30 March, 2015

The Alcohol Health Alliance is today calling on the Premier League to follow the lead of sporting organisations in France and look outside the alcohol industry for future high profile sponsorship deals.

Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance has today written to Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League, arguing that it is "morally wrong for huge multinational alcohol companies to target our children and young people through sport".

Big name beer, wine and spirits brands are all currently involved with a host of football clubs and

Concha y Toro has a high profile link up with Manchester United for its Casillero del Diablo Chilean wine brand.

Liverpool Football Club was at ProWein early this month looking to sign up a wine brand as one of its commercial partners.

The letter from the AHA comes on the back of national media reports that Diageo is in the frame to battle Barclays to be the title sponsor of the Premier League

In his letter Gilmore writes: "Alcohol brands already dominate sporting events that attract children as well as adults, creating automatic associations between alcohol brands and sport that are cumulative, unconscious and built up over years. It is morally wrong for huge multinational alcohol companies to target our children and young people through sport."

He added: "Diageo's pursuit of the Premier League sponsorship is a particularly cynical attempt to push consumption of its products to new consumers. It would be considered outrageous if tobacco companies were to become sponsors of the Premier League, so I question why it should be acceptable for the alcohol industry. Alcohol, like tobacco, is after all a class 1 carcinogen."

"Diageo's pursuit of the Premier League sponsorship is a particularly cynical attempt to push consumption of its products to new consumers. It would be considered outrageous if tobacco companies were to become sponsors of the Premier League, so I question why it should be acceptable for the alcohol industry. Alcohol, like tobacco, is after all a class 1 carcinogen."

The Portman Group was quick to counter the AHA allegations. In a statement it said: "Once again, the AHA chooses to ignore the facts to further their campaigning objectives. Drinks companies abide by strict rules that ensure alcohol is not marketed to under-18s and in the UK the official government statistics show that the number of children drinking has been declining at a significant rate for over a decade.

"Alcohol sponsorship is strictly controlled in the UK and drinks companies are required to actively promote responsible drinking as part of their sponsorship agreements. This commitment is unique to the alcohol sector, is supported by all major sports organisations and has been welcomed by government."

It added: "Alcohol sponsorship also makes a significant contribution to the country's economy, and provides essential support for grassroots programmes nationwide. Bans on alcohol sponsorship do not reduce alcohol harms. In France, an alcohol sponsorship and marketing ban has been accompanied by two decades of increasingly harmful drinking among children and teenagers."

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