The Chairperson of Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, Dr Ernest Norgbey, has said alcoholic beverages are now allowed to sponsor sporting activities.
He explained that the Sports Fund Act which was promulgated by the Youth and Sports Committee in Parliament had incorporated provisions allowing the advertisement of beverages during sporting activities, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
“At the end of the day, we promulgated a law, the Sports Fund Act, which we inculcated that particular provision in the Sports Fund Act,” he said on TV3’s Daily Brief, Thursday, November 5.
“As we speak now, it is a law that alcoholic beverages, not only alcoholic beverages, in the law, we stated that beverages can be advertised during sporting activities,” he added.
He said the Act’s interpretation of beverages covers both alcoholic and soft drinks, adding that the provision was intended to create additional revenue streams for sports development.
“Beverages so to be defined, the interpretation column says that it could either be alcoholic beverages or the soft beverages. So, it s now part of our law that we can advertise those things during our sporting activities,” he stressed.
The Committee, he said, believes that allowing such advertisements would help the Football Association and the Ministry of Youth and Sports mobilise resources to develop the country’s sporting sector.
Dr Norgbey added that the FDA had been informed of the Committee’s concerns and had acknowledged its position on the regulation.
His disclosure follows an appeal by the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Okraku to Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee to intervene in the restrictions preventing alcoholic beverage companies from sponsoring sports in Ghana.
Appearing before the committee on Wednesday, October 4, Mr Okraku cited a proposed sponsorship deal between Guinness Ghana Limited and the GFA, which he said was worth more than $5 million annually but fell through because of the FDA’s restrictions.
He explained that the GFA held several meetings with the company after it expressed interest in investing heavily in the Ghana Premier League. However, negotiations ended after the FDA declined to approve the arrangement.
“We were approached by Guinness Ghana Limited, wanting to invest heavily in the Ghana Premier League. We did whatever we had to do. We had a series of meetings. At the end, FDA said no. The deal was, if I’m not mistaken, over $5 million a year. We lost it,” he said.
