FIFA colludes with Drinks Industry to change Brazilian Law

Brazil is the country of soccer. But, for many years now, there has in several states been a ban on alcohol in sports stadia because of the violence associated with matches. The ban was enacted into law in the city of Sao Paulo. Besides banning the sales of alcoholic beverages in stadia this law also bans sales in the surrounding area two hours before and one hour after sports events. The prescribed penalty is confiscation of the product being sold plus a fine of approximately $555 U.S. dollars. A second offence doubles the penalty, and a third one may lead to a loss of the commercial license. This has been a successful history of alcohol policy, resulting in a significant drop in violent events, and everybody was happy with this situation until FIFA stepped in.

FIFA are imposing the lifting of the ban on sales of alcoholic beverages in soccer stadia during the 2014 world cup matches. FIFA’s actions are linked to a multimillion dollar contract that the organization has with Budweiser, and which is in force until 2014. The indication is that, as in the 2010 world cup in South Africa, only Budweiser will be sold during the games. Corporate interests are trumping the public health and safety interests of Brazilians.

While most in Brazil believe that the ban will be lifted no matter where games are played and no matter what types of laws mandate the ban, the political debate is not yet over, and very recently it took a new twist. First, on March 28, 2012, the bill “Lei Geral da Copa” (Cup General Law), which provides a legal framework regulating the cup in Brazil, was approved by the lower chamber in the Brazilian Congress (Camara dos Deputados or the Deputies Chamber). The bill is to be debated by the senate side of the Brazilian congress in May 2012. Several deputies and senators are openly against the lifting of the ban, and even public opinion clearly shows the same feeling. However, the force of corporate FIFA and the threat of taking the World Cup elsewhere can become too strong an argument for our politicians, and at the end the most likely outcome is that Brazil will surrender its sovereignty to the interest of the alcohol industry having FIFA defending their interest.

Globe Comment:

This is not the first time that Anheuser-Busch (a USA-based company) has aggressively lobbied against the alcohol control policies of other nations. In 1997 the American brewer, a major sponsor of the World Cup, attempted to thwart France’s alcohol advertising ban (Loi Evin) in order to advertise Budweiser in French stadia.

The French Government was not prepared to yield and, as a consequence, Anheuser-Busch sold its billboards.

The Alcohol Industry knows only too well the potential of sponsoring and advertising during the World Cup and other international sporting events. Such investment is repaid many times over with increased sales. Alcohol and sport is a mismatch. It sends the wrong message to young people and circumvents the Drinks Industry’s own self-regulatory codes. It is time for FIFA and other sports organisations to recognise this and, at least, to support the national alcohol control policies that have proven to be effective in protecting the young and helping to curtail violence and other alcohol-related harm.