The senior lawyer and the head of the sports law department of YUST – on sports and alcohol in Russia
The limitations on beer advertisement are set by the Law of advertising. According to that beer brands are not supposed to be present at any sports or fitness venues or closer than 100 m to them. The ban to sell alcohol at sports arenas and events is imposed by the law regulating the turnover of alcoholic beverages.
In most European countries it is legal to sell and advertise beer at stadiums and other sports venues. The breweries' advertisement brings serious income to sports federations, clubs, arenas' owners and tenants. A long-term cooperation of UEFA and Heineken is the best example of such a partnership. Finance is the main reason for governmental officials to allow beer brands promote their product at sports venues.
The fact that the beer brands are not present at Russian sports arenas can't solve the problem of the high consumption of alcohol and will not help to reduce it. At the same time the money invested by breweries could be spend on sports academies' and youth competitions' support. The companies producing alcohol know how to avoid advertisement restrictions. For instance they place their logos at sports events abroad if they are broadcasted in Russia. The message reaches its audience but Russian sports federations and clubs don't get any money.
It's not illegal for a brewery to sponsor sports events. But without the possibility to advertise at a sports venue such partnership doesn't make much sense.
The football and beer lobbies could unite in order to cancel the ban. At the same time the upcoming World Cup – 2018 can change the situation due to FIFA's liabilities to its global sponsors.
