The British Medical Association has called for curbs on sponsorship and promotion of unhealthy food through sport, and for an outright ban on such partnerships in children’s sport.

It has highlighted the fact that the share of the sports sponsorship market in such products is now higher after a year of Covid-19 that it was before, despite the fact of obesity being highlighted as a serious factor in the impact of the virus.

It has highlighted that 17 of the 20 English Premier League clubs have such sponsors and that relationships are also in place at the Premier League, Football league, FIFA and UEFA.

Cadbury, Coca Cola and McDonald’s have been identified as amongst the most prominent sponsors from this category that are involved across British sport.

McDonald’s has been a partner of the FA for two decades where it has provided “five million hours of Fun Football to 500,000 children in that time.”

It also had a partnership with the FAI here, providing similar funding of children’s coaching but that relationship came to an end after running for three years from 2013 to 2015.

Advocates of change have highlighted the outcome of a ban on what is known as HFSS sponsorship in the Netherlands which resulted in a 12 per cent drop in childhood obesity.

It is estimated that the value of deals in the UK is that HFSS brands make up one-fifth of deals with food and drink sponsorship which itself makes up 15 per cent of the overall market.

The restriction of advertising and promotion of unhealthy food choices was one of the recommendations in an action plan on obesity published in 2016 by the government here in Ireland.

The result was that Ireland became the first country in Europe to adopt a voluntary code in this area, published in December 2017.

It stated in relation to sponsorship that

  • No sponsorship involving HFSS food will be permitted for any other setting dedicated to
    use by children of primary school age.
  • No sponsorship involving HFSS food will be permitted of events of particular appeal to
    children of primary school age.
  • Existing sponsorship contracts and agreements which otherwise would be in breach of
    the code will be permitted to continue until they expire.

There are very limited examples of such sponsorships across Irish sport so it looks as if this is one surge of sponsorship concern that we have managed to get ahead of.

 

 

Sport for Business Partners