Alcohol sponsorship ban ‘would hurt sports’

The country’s three largest sporting bodies all said that a proposal to ban sponsorship of major sporting events by drinks firms would have a devastating impact on the funding of their respective sports, especially at club and community level.

They also warned that income from the sponsorship of drinks firms allowed them to provide a range of initiatives which helped young people to live a healthy lifestyle, as well as bid for major events like the European Soccer Championship in 2020 and Rugby World Cup in 2023.

FAI chief executive John Delaney, who was joined by his counterparts from the GAA and IRFU, said the FAI had become more reliant on sponsorship in recent years as a result of reduced support from the Irish Sport Council, reduced ticket prices, and Vat increases.