Old Firm kids kits lose beer logo

Coors CEO Mark Hunter with Georgie Leith and Joshua Carmichael launching the new shirts

Old Firm sponsor Carling is to remove its logo from Rangers and Celtic children's football tops in a bid to promote responsible drinking.

The move comes two years ahead of an agreed ban by the drinks industry on branding on child-size replica shirts.

But an alcohol concern group has called for a total ban on alcohol sponsorship in sport.

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) said a wider debate on the issue of alcohol branding in sport was needed.

Carling, brewed by Coors, has sponsored Rangers and Celtic since 2003.

Until now replica kits for children have been available without branding but these will become standard from next season.

Jack Law, from Alcohol Focus Scotland, said he supported the move but called for a total ban.

He said: "Why should fans, young or old, be exposed to so much alcohol advertising when they watch a match?

"We would say that alcohol sponsorship in sport is inappropriate.

"Footballers don't drink alcohol before a match to ensure peak fitness, but during the match itself they wear a top with an alcoholic drink logo on it. Alcohol and high performance do not go hand in hand."

'Wider issues'

Coors Brewers CEO Mark Hunter said the decision to remove the branding on shirts for children was a step towards encouraging responsible drinking.

He said: "To be honest, I don't think this one move in isolation will discourage underage drinking.

"It's part of a much bigger plane that the whole alcohol industry is stepping up to.

"We hear the concerns of the public, we hear the concerns of the government.

"I think this is one facet of a number of different initiatives currently under consideration or that have already taken place."

The Rangers and Celtic adult tops will still carry the Carling branding

But he said the company did not think it was necessary to withdraw its branding from adult shirts.

"We don't want to do that because it's an important part of building our brand. We feel that targeting people of legal drinking age and above is appropriate and we will continue to do that."

A spokesman for the SFA, which is sponsored by Tennants and Whyte & Mackay, said it would endorse any move that promoted a healthy lifestyle for young people.

He added that the SFA would welcome a debate on the use of alcohol sponsorship in the sport.

"There are wider issues that need to be looked at right across the board," he said.

Hibernian Football Club, which is sponsored by Whyte & Mackay, sells child replica kits with and without branding.

A spokesman from the club said it was a matter of parental choice.

New rules banning the use of alcohol branding on children's replica sports shirts will apply to all sponsorship contracts signed after 1 January next year.

The decision by the Portman Group, an industry body that promotes responsible drinking, followed a public consultation on its code of practice on the "naming, packaging and promotion of alcoholic drinks".

Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged other clubs to follow the Old Firm's example.

Ms Sturgeon told BBC Radio Scotland's Newsdrive programme: "One of the big issues around alcohol is to change people's attitudes to it and that has to start with very young people."

She did not rule out consideration of a ban on alcohol sponsorship on sporting kits, but said there were issues of devolved and reserved responsibilities.

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