Sport

Liquorama deal, the sobering truth

It works elsewhere: Alcohol and sport has deals running into millions in neighbouring South Africa It works elsewhere: Alcohol and sport has deals running into millions in neighbouring South Africa
It works elsewhere: Alcohol and sport has deals running into millions in neighbouring South Africa

Often the world, rightly or wrongly, holds a blurry view of alcohol. It is synonymous with staggering and bad behaviour, the flip side of neatly dressed gentlemen exchanging constructive ideas while sipping at an upmarket bar is hardly considered.

That gentleman in a suit disturbs the widely held view that alcohol is a nuisance. That advert of working class young man quenching the “refreshing” drink at the end of a long day, with sizzling hot steaks besides, is hardly ideal. It gives alcohol the wrong picture, its critics will maintain. The perfect picture is of a weary, scruffy-looking drunk man staggering home to a puzzled, hungry family in a dilapidated shack. That provides the picture perfect description of alcohol. Therefore, on that basis, alcohol has been shoved as far away as possible from most lives and activities.

Locally, sport is one of the activities that has been kept away from alcohol. Botswana has passed the opportunity to host the COSAFA Cup as it is sponsored by beer brand, Castle.

Beer brands are known to be keen to associate with sport as a casual link will reveal a symbiotic relationship between sports fans and alcohol. Established brands like Heineken, Carlsberg, Castle and Guinness have not hesitated to pour millions into sport.

In neighbouring South Africa, the three most popular disciplines, football, rugby and cricket, are bankrolled by beer brands, including Castle and Black Label. The deals run into millions and sport has been turned into an industry that employs millions. Botswana has been ommitted as alcohol brands are not allowed to sponsor sport. But this week, leading football club, Township Rollers tied a deal which set tongue wagging and is certain to revive a long standing argument.

The club has roped in leading liquor outlet, Liqourama as its alcohol partner in a bid to woo members. The deal, while still at its infancy, is likely to see a spike in sales and membership for both parties.

The sobering truth is that football fans are among the highest consumers of alcohol, although there are no immediate statistics to qualify the argument. In this regard, there are several ways of ensuring that alcohol does not spoil the sport party. In South Africa, just a few kilometres away, authorities have succeeded in creating countless opportunities for clubs and players through alcohol without affecting the quality of the atmosphere at stadiums.

All moves are carefully calculated to ensure maximum benefits for parties involved at minimum risk to the fan. The unparalleled, buzzing FNB Stadium atmosphere has never been disturbed during the Black Label Cup featuring two football giants, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.Most local sports codes have been reduced to basket cases, yet it is known that some beer brands are keen to come to the rescue. The parlous state of these codes, including football, has been the most eloquent illustration that a paradigm shift is unavoidable, just as a daring Rollers has done in partnering with Liqourama. While the fear that alcohol might play the spoiler, there are practical ways of going about the challenge to ensure that the safety of the fan is undisturbed and sport remains safe for a family outing.

Clubs should be allowed to run kiosks at the stadium with the income going into their pockets. A sizable number of fans probably chose to stay at home and enjoy their glass of ice cold beverage and football in front of the television screen, instead of going to the stadium, in the process depriving the clubs of much needed revenue.