Alcohol advertising ban on kids' shirts
Liverpool's deal will not be affected by the ban
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Sunday, 03, Jun 2007 12:10
The advertising of alcohol on children's size replica sports shirts will end at the start of next year following a report from the Portman Group.
The Portman Group is supported by the leading drinks manufacturers in the UK and the report commissioned was an independent study.
Following the results it has been decided that logos promoting alcoholic drinks should be removed from all children's replica shirts.
The Portman Group said: "There is no evidence to link this marketing with under-age drinking. Even so, drinks companies are concerned about the negative perception caused by their logos appearing on children's shirts."
While the ban is due to start on January 1st 2008, the legislation will only apply to deals signed after that date, therefore the three-year deal Liverpool have signed with Carlsberg would not be affected.
This has led to some criticism from experts that the move does not go far enough.
Professor Ian Gilmour, a liver specialist and president of the Royal College of Physicians said: "I welcome the announcement and hope it's a move towards the complete withdrawal of the alcohol industry from sports events.
"Every statistic that comes out shows an increasingly concerning situation surrounding alcohol use by the young."
The government recently introduced legislation that health warnings should be printed on all alcoholic products and the decision to ban the advertising on kids' shirts is in line with this.
Teams such as Everton, Rangers and Celtic will be affected as well as a number of rugby and county cricket sides.