BALLARAT'S AFL club Western Bulldogs is the only team in the league to have no evident sponsorship association with the alcohol industry.
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A report from Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, released on Wednesday found all AFL clubs except the Bulldogs bought into foreign multinationals using the prominence of the AFL to market their alcohol brand to children.
Geelong tops the AFL ladder with three major and one minor alcohol advertising deal.
Former St Kilda president Rod Butterss applauded the 'Dogs for resisting the temptation but said ubiquitous exposure in the game normalised Australia's drinking culture far too much, particularly towards children and teenagers.
Mr Butterss has spoken openly about his struggles with booze and drugs while leading the Saints. Now a FARE ambassador for a national campaign to end alcohol advertising in sport, Mr Butterss was disgusted in companies deliberately targeting a future consumer market.
"It's tough enough on young people with all the pressures they have, let alone the constant association with their heroes and alcohol," Mr Butterss told The Courier. "Alcohol companies aren't stupid around when young people are watching. Companies are trying to garner customers of tomorrow."
Western Bulldogs captain Easton Wood has also taken a public stance on the prevalence of advertising for gambling and betting agencies in the game, including the launch of a new campaign in Ballarat last month. Mr Wood feels as a role model in the game he is a walking billboard for accepted community standards.
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Mr Butterss, from board experience, said it can be tough for clubs to be competitive in raising funds to keep up with bigger clubs, so making an ethical decision to turn down a sponsorship was tough. This was why Mr Butterss said there needed to be stronger industry leadership from the AFL down to grassroots sport.
Mr Butterss said troubles with alcohol could take time to unfold and positive role models at a young age were crucial.
FARE's study found alcohol advertising in the men's league was widespread across a range of channels, including merchandise and playing kits. It was a similar story in the NRL with Melbourne Storm the only club to have no ties with the alcohol industry.
The study only looked into the men's leagues of both codes because there was insufficient data on which to rank women's teams, however, Treasury Wine Estates (Wolf Blass) was a major sponsor of AFLW.
FARE reports 144 Australian women die with alcohol-related breast cancer each year. This is the equivalent of every women playing the inaugural AFLW season.
AFL premiership player and coach Michael Malthouse, who hails from Ballarat, is also a strong ambassador for FARE's End Alcohol Advertising in Sport campaign, calling for greater protection for children to enjoy the game.
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