By Gary Eason BBC News, at the NUT conference

Mr Sinnott does not want to see drinks adverts on sports shirts

Steve Sinnott of the National Union of Teachers said the impact on the young was stark.

Government figures showed a fifth of all students excluded from school were excluded for drinking.

"This exposure to alcohol is damaging young people's lives and futures," he told his union's annual conference.

Mr Sinnott - who is from Liverpool - described the possible experience of a young football fan going to a Liverpool-Everton match.

It is a Carling cup match, with a Chang beer logo on the Everton shirts and Carlsberg on Liverpool's.

A scoring striker indicates that his celebrations that night will involve "more than a social drink".

The man of the match is awarded a bottle of champagne.

"The effects on the young are stark," Mr Sinnott said.

"I call today for radical action by the drinks industry and others. The association between alcohol and sport must end.

"The sponsorship of sport by the drinks industry must end in advance of the Olympics in 2012."

'Exploitation'

He told reporters afterwards that he hoped to stimulate a debate. He thought the exclusion statistics would shock some people.

"We are going to have a drinks industry and people enjoy a drink and there's nothing wrong with enjoying a drink.

"But what we have now is that youngsters are being the focus of exploitation," he said.

"When I see a five or six-year-old walking around with the name of a beer on their shirt, because the company that makes it sponsors the team they support, I think that's wrong."

Inspiration

Delegates earlier heard from Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes on the inspirational effect teachers could have on young people.

At the age of 12 she was encouraged to take up running by her PE teacher.

She asked her audience if they had ever identified gifted children - most hands went up.

"You can actually make a huge difference to so many people's lives if you just believe it yourself, if you believe in the work that you do," she told them.

"So please, if you see one of those children - if it's sport, music, business, whatever it is - just give them that one bit of help, tell them they will be good, they will be great."