The Scottish Premiership has a higher proportion of alcohol industry sponsors compared to most of the other European nations studied. The report, commissioned by alcohol expert body Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and carried out by the University of Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health, assesses the extent of alcohol sponsorship in the top tier of men’s professional football across 10 European nations. The study assessed to what extent different levels of restriction of alcohol marketing impacts on the sponsorship arrangements of football clubs in these countries.

Sponsorship is a key strategy used by transnational alcohol companies to increase awareness of their products and reach new audiences in different parts of the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Controls on alcohol marketing, including sponsorship, are listed by the WHO as one of their three ‘best buy’ policies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.