Coopers brewery sponsors local soccer stadium

Don’t the anti-alcohol watchdogs have anything more serious to worry about? As of July 2013, Hindmarsh Stadium, the 17,000-capacity home of the soccer club Adelaide United, will be known as Coopers Stadium for the next five years.

Coopers now have exclusive naming and pouring rights at the ground. However, this deal is not with the club and will not provide funding to Adelaide United for football, development or anything else.

Still, this sponsorship deal has generated major angst amongst anti-booze forces as it goes against the recent stand of the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) to ban alcohol sponsorship of the sport.

Adelaide United lost its shirt sponsorship with Coopers last year when the FFA prohibited alcohol advertising at clubs across the country.

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out, says our correspondent John Harvey. Coopers already has naming rights of Coopers Norwood Oval, a leading local Aussie Rules football venue.