Trouble in paradise

In a sobering indication of just how entrenched alcohol and junk food sponsorship is in Australian sport, the recent announcements by the WA Cricket Association (WACA) and the Perth Glory about dropping their unhealthy sponsors made prominent headlines – “WACA dumps booze, fast food” and “Perth Glory Lite – Soccer club dumps fast food sponsor for Healthway campaign.”

By contrast, the announcement a few years back that the WA Football Commission had renewed its multi-million dollar deal with Carlton United Breweries for 10 more years hardly raised an eyebrow.

It’s a clear indication that many Australians consider the association of alcohol with sport as normal.

This association isn’t accidental. Alcohol companies have poured millions into sport sponsorship in Australia (estimated at over $300 million per annum) to create and reinforce social norms where alcohol consumption is considered customary in a range of social settings, including sport.

The WACA and Perth Glory are only a couple of the many sport organisations in WA that have shunned alcohol promotion in favour of sponsorships with Healthway (the WA Health Promotion Foundation).

The most recent sponsorship with the WACA is Healthway’s largest in terms of the dollar value and there are very good reasons why Healthway has made this major investment over three years.

Firstly, Healthway is recognised as an agent for change in moving community thinking and action into a healthier direction for Western Australians. Challenging community norms and generating public debate about the issues that matter are critical to bringing about that change.

By helping to reduce the extent of alcohol sponsorship synonymous with some of our highest profile sports, Healthway actively seeks to challenge the community norm that sport and alcohol go hand in hand. The WACA’s decision to dump alcohol sponsorship in favour of the Alcohol.Think Again message caught the attention of the media and ignited public debate.

Secondly, Healthway’s sponsorship with the WACA will result in a significant reduction in alcohol marketing through cricket in WA. All alcohol promotions will be removed from the WACA’s elite teams, community competitions and corporate footprint.

Reducing exposure to alcohol promotions (especially those with a high degree of exposure to children and young adults) can only be a good thing and help reduce consumption, especially among young people who are interested in cricket. This aspect has come into sharper focus this year with research at The University of Western Australia showing that children cannot be quarantined from sponsors’ promotions in adult level and elite sport.

Thirdly, as each new sport makes the decision to dump alcohol sponsorship, public pressure intensifies on sport administrators who continue to allow their sport to be held captive by the alcohol industry. In 2010, dozens of sport organisations in Western Australia had alcohol sponsors. In just a few years, all but a few WA-based sport organisations have dropped agreements that included obligations to promote alcohol.

The icing on the cake with the WACA sponsorship is that Healthway also has the opportunity to promote Alcohol.Think Again, through the WACA’s elite teams, T20 Community Cup, district cricket competition and Indigenous cricket programs.

This extends the reach of an important public health campaign and underpins the message that alcohol and sport aren’t a good mix. The WACA will work with Cricket Australia aiming to eventually eliminate alcohol promotions from all international and national fixtures held in WA under the auspices of Cricket Australia.

Healthway sponsorship is often referred to in the same context as “bans” on alcohol sponsorship which misrepresents our approach. Healthway has no powers to regulate or ban the promotion of alcohol. Our focus is on using the public funds we invest in sponsorship to the best effect. We seek to partner organisations that support health promotion objectives and, like any other sponsor, Healthway requires conditions of sponsorship.

Pleasingly, the number of organisations seeking to partner Healthway continues to grow significantly each year and the pressure continues to grow on the remaining sports that continue to be used by alcohol companies to increase their profits.