THE doctors from The Royal College of Physicians in Ireland are asking the Government to ban the sponsorship of sporting events by alcohol companies. Ah yes, lads, and that will be the end of all our troubles. "Oh my goodness", the alcoholic wife-beater will say and "golly" too . "That's it", he will declare. "Now that the Heineken Cup is to be called the Ice Cream trophy, I'm not going to drink another drop." The young girl who has downed her eighth shot in a heaving club looks up at the poster of the Guinness All-Ireland Hurling Championship and she tells her friends: "I'm switching to Guinness cos I love the small ball."

The report does not say where the replacement sponsorship monies will come from, or how the woman who keeps guests for the Guinness-sponsored Listowel Races will pay for the college registration fees, or who will compensate her son for losing his job as a gateman at the racetrack and collecting glasses in the local pub that night.

There is no mention in the report of the investment of the millions of sponsorship in sporting facilities and coaching by the sporting organisations or as to how these millions will be found if the drinks companies are forced to pull out.

I do not want in any way to belittle the compilers of the report who have risen to the top of their profession by hard work and the excellence of their performance in the field. Sporting events bring the crowds. There's a socio-economic dimension that will not appear on any chart. Bald figures do not give the overall story and so a section of an otherwise excellent report is deeply flawed.
 

Read Full Article here>