THE JOINT committee on Transport and Communications published their report this week on the Sponsorship of Sports by the Alcohol Drinks.
I am glad to say that sense seems to have prevailed. There are 22 pages in the report, but the most telling line was as follows.
“The majority held the view that the link between sponsorship and the misuse of alcohol in society had not been established”
This has always been my personal view.
If people think that going to a pub for eight hours on a Sunday, drinking pints, to watch two rugby matches and a Premiership game is down to who sponsors the tournament, they are way off.
The culture of excessive drinking in Ireland was here long before sports sponsorship arrived.
We, as a nation, are known worldwide for our ability to take a drink. The issue has never been sponsorship of sports, more what people want to do while watching them. Before, during and after in most cases.
The report also found that the money raised from drink sponsorships is going to good use.
“If it was the case that funds raised through sponsorship were simply used to pay exorbitant salaries, such as those paid to Premier League footballers in England, the Committee would fully support a phasing out of drinks sponsorship. However, the Committee learned that much of the sponsorship received is used by the sporting bodies to promote and increase participation rates. The Committee was very impressed by the GAA‘s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Programme (ASAP), an initiative which was supported by the HSE”
Yes, the advertisers are looking for you to drink their product, but you, as a consumer, must make the choice to drink. You have to be in an off licence or pub first, to chose between the different drinks on offer.
Brand recognition is what the drinks companies are after. The drink culture in this country is multi faceted and will take more than a report to fix, but at last some common sense has been shown. We can finally make a choice.
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