By former First Minister of Scotland, Rt Hon. Henry McLeish.
Rt Hon. Henry McLeish writes about his passion for football, his thoughts on SHAAP’s latest report and why Scotland needs to call time on alcohol sports sponsorship.
One of my greatest passions and interests is Scottish sport, and football in particular. It has now been 12 years since I conducted my review into Scottish football, but I am as interested and involved in the sport as ever.
Football is a source of great pride, health, fitness, and cultural importance for Scotland. No other country in Europe has such a large percentage of its population attending weekly football games. This is the case across the whole country, with leagues, teams and fans spanning the entirety of Scotland. Huge numbers of people enjoy a shared experience of attending games and coming together to celebrate, commiserate and hopefully dream, time and time again.
There is something very special and unique about the dedication of our Scottish football fans and their emotional connection to their clubs and the game. Football provides a sense of community for many; a place where folks catch up with friends and family – making memories.
Scottish football should inspire positive relationships, good health, and team spirit. However, club sponsorship has allowed the promotion of harmful products such as alcohol to take part in our beloved game and for the alcohol industry to capitalise on our unique relationship with football – the beautiful game.
Sport sponsorship provides alcohol companies with a prominent and highly attractive method of reaching a large audience, influencing how much and how often they consume alcohol. It is well established that exposure to alcohol marketing is associated with the initiation of drinking, an increase in alcohol consumption, and has been reported to increased risk of relapse (for those in recovery). Sponsorship allows brands to form attractive associations and capitalise on fans’ emotional connections with sport and sports teams.
As former First Minister, I have seen the devastating harms which alcohol has caused in Scotland in recent decades. Tragically, alcohol continues to be one of Scotland’s most serious public health issues – as evidenced by the latest
alcohol death figures from the National Records for Scotland. These figures show an increase from 1,020 alcohol-specific deaths in 2020 to 1,245 in 2021, with death rates 5.6 times higher among those living in the most deprived areas of Scotland, compared to the least.
However, these figures reflect only those deaths where alcohol was solely responsible. If you include those where alcohol has played a part, the true alcohol death toll is at least 3 times higher. While a fatal outcome is the most tragic demonstration of alcohol harm, the adverse impact on society is much wider, affecting not only those suffering alcohol problems, but also those around them. Everyone in Scotland knows someone whose life has been damaged by alcohol.
SHAAP’s latest report makes valuable findings which I welcome. The report highlights that Scottish football has a comparatively lower number of sponsors than our European counterparts, and within this we have a higher proportion of alcohol sponsors. We must find a better way to finance Scottish football, finding sponsors with values that align with sports and community, and who are not damaging our Scottish population by marketing harmful products. I have no doubt that this aim could be easily achieved. Even in tough times Scottish football could do much better.
This form of avoidable harm has no place in sport, and the Scottish Government must show leadership in implementing decisive, effective approaches to tackle this. Sport should no longer be a forum for alcohol to be promoted.
Scotland needs to call time on alcohol sports sponsorship.
SHAAP Blogposts are published with the permission of the authors. The views expressed are solely the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent the views of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP).
Learn more about our campaign to ban alcohol sponsorship in sports, including evidence, official supporters and how you can take action to support us today: Calling Time (shaap.org.uk)