Scottish women reject gambling and alcohol sponsors as they prepare for first World Cup

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at Hampden Park

Scottish women reject gambling and alcohol sponsors as they prepare for first World Cup

By Steve Clare

The Scottish women’s team has qualified for its first ever World Cup Finals, carrying the best wishes of its population and its government behind it.

However, in a principled stand, Scottish Women’s Football (SWF) will decline sponsorship money from both alcohol and gambling companies.

The organisation’s chair Vivienne MacLaren told local media that the reason behind it was a duty to children and young people.

“Over 80% of our members who play football are in youth teams and are under 18.

“I understand why, in the men’s game and other sports, it fits very well with what they are trying to do. But, for us, it is very much family-orientated. Even in our senior teams, there are many players who are under 18.”

It is a bold move. The cable sports channels in the UK are filled with gambling adverts, with alcohol coming second. Both products seemingly have found a market in sports fans. The move will clearly cost SWF money and resources but that is something Ms. MacLaren can live with for the greater good of Scottish youth:

“We know it is a minority of people with issues around alcohol and gambling, but they are still serious issues. We want wee girls playing football to have positive role models and a bit of a cleaner view of life.”

The SWF and Ms. MacLaren are perhaps being kind and ignoring one of the more unpleasant consequences when alcohol and football combine in Scotland, her quotes carefully avoiding the more thorny issue of the the link between football, alcoholism and domestic violence.

Domestic violence rises in Scotland when Rangers and Celtic play each other, an increase caused according to Police by alcohol as much as the sectarian and religious bigotry that fuels the rivalry and differentiates their fans from others in Britain.

Alcohol and football can lead to an increase in domestic violence

The head of Police Scotland’s licensing and violence reduction division, Ch Supt McEwan, told the Daily Record in 2016, that excess drinking was behind most incidents:

“Although we can’t attribute all of these incidents of domestic abuse directly to the Rangers and Celtic match, these figures underline that this event often leads to individuals having too much alcohol to drink which unfortunately lead to anti-social behaviour, violence and domestic abuse.”

Therefore the SWF’s decision to turn away alcohol revenue is both responsible, protective of children and protective of women in a country where until recently there has been an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

One person trying to change that is First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

She has been refreshingly honest about the issue for the good of the nation’s health although it has risked votes and support to her Scottish National Party (SNP) from the alcohol industry. Her government introduced minimum pricing on alcohol to reduce sales of the strong but cut-price tonic wines and ciders, bought by those seeking the cheapest buzz.

Earlier this year, Scotland introduced a legally enforced minimum price for all alcoholic drinks of 50p per unit, to help tackle a particularly Scottish problem with chronic alcohol abuse.

SWNT players receive government funding to aid FIFA World Cup preparation

Her government however does have time and resources to support Scots’ healthier pastimes. This week, it announced a fund of around £80,000 through the Scottish Football Partnership to support the Scotland women’s team in the World Cup.

The fund will subsidise the players to train full-time in the lead up to the 2019 FIFA World Cup. More specifially, it will allow those in the national squad who are currently not professionals to train full-time from January 2019 ahead of the tournament in France which begins on 7 June.

Jo Love, Leanne Crichton, Hayley Lauder and Lee Alexander (all Glasgow City) and Hibernian duo Joelle Murray and Jenna Fife play in the Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL), which is almost exclusively amateur. They will be direct beneficiaries.

“It’s fantastic for the team,” said Crichton. “We can’t thank the Scottish Government enough for all their support. The support they gave us in the lead-up to UEFA Euro 2017 certainly helped us in our preparations, and a lot of the girls benefited from that.

“It’s not easy at times to balance work and football, and the support will certainly help us out once again.”

Sturgeon confirmed the funding at Scotland’s national stadium Hampden Park ahead of the Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week where she was was joined by those six players and Head Coach Shelley Kerr.

Head coach Shelley Kerr (4th from left) , First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (5th) accompanied by players Jo Love, Lee Alexander, Jenna Fife, Hayley Lauder, Leanne Crichton and Joelle Murray.
Photo: Scottish Government

Scottish FA Chief Executive Ian Maxwell said:

“The whole of the country was delighted when Shelley Kerr’s team qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

“We are determined to ensure that the squad are as well prepared as they can be going into their first FIFA World Cup.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Scottish Government for their support, which will undoubtedly help our home based players as they push to make the final squad.”

Scotland Women’s National Team Head Coach Shelley Kerr added:

“It was an incredible achievement to qualify for our first ever FIFA World Cup.

“It was a special feeling but now it’s incredibly important we focus on the future and how best to prepare for the FIFA World Cup in France.

“We are determined to start the tournament in the best possible shape and are delighted to have the support of the Scottish Government through the Scottish Football Partnership.

“We are in a fortunate position where a number of our players are already playing football full-time and this agreement allows all of our squad to be at their optimal best when the tournament comes around.”

NICOLA STURGEON “WATERSHED MOMENT”

First Minister Sturgeon is a patron of the Scotland women’s national team, believing their World Cup qualification has created a “watershed moment” for the game in Scotland.

“This funding will also strengthen women’s and girls’ football in this country, and also give Shelley and her squad the best chance of success in the finals,” she said.

“I’m proud to be patron of the Scotland Women’s National Team and it’s been fantastic to see the hard work of the squad and staff pay off by qualifying for the FIFA World Cup next year. This funding will allow all members of the squad to train full-time from January 2019 through to the World Cup in the summer.

“This will also strengthen women’s and girls’ football in this country, and also aims to give Shelley and her squad the best chance of success in the finals.

“We want to increase participation of women and girls in sport and I hope the success of the women’s team inspires more women and girls to get involved in sport, from grassroots activity to elite level.”

The draw for the finals takes place on December 8th. So far 15 of the qualifiers are known with the CONCACAF region and Africa among those yet to decide who will represent them.

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