Examining the Nature of Sponsorship Relations for Professional Football Teams in Countries with Varied Restrictions on Alcohol Marketing: An Open-source Audit

Rationale Sponsorship is a powerful and multifaceted marketing strategy that enables brands to capitalise on the emotional appeal of important cultural organisations and events (eg. football teams, music festivals) to increase the attractiveness of their products. Some countries have restrictions that prohibit alcohol companies from sponsoring sporting teams or events. In France, no alcohol sponsorship of sport is permitted at all. In Ireland, alcohol companies are limited in the events they are permitted to sponsor and what promotional activities they can use at events (eg. not within the playing area). The Scottish Government are thought to also be considering similar controls on sponsorship, but opponents are likely to argue this would remove a revenue stream that is essential to ensure the viability and sustainability of the teams they sponsor.

Objective To the examine sponsorship relationships for professional (top tier) football clubs in Europe and how the nature of sponsorship varies by level of alcohol marketing restriction.

Methods This desk-based research will use open-source research to audit the key sponsorship deals of professional (top tier) football clubs in several European countries.