It is no secret that Costa Ricans love soccer, no other sport in the country has the importance or draws the attention that soccer does, and thus, the different soccer teams receive sponsorship from many different brands, games are usually televised in one of the two main T.V. channels, players and coaches are interviewed prior to the game and after the game, photos are taken for printed media outlets, images come and go in social media shared thousands of times… sponsors get their money’s worth; bars know they will have a good day of business if a good game is on, but if you pay close attention you will notice that in Costa Rica liquor brands don’t appear among the sponsors, not in soccer and not in any other sport, not in the stadiums or in any sports show.

The reason is simple, Law No. 9047 regarding “The Regulation and Commerce of Beverages with Alcoholic Content” prohibits the use of brands or commercial names of alcoholic beverages in publicity, such as printed material on uniforms, signs on buses or transportation being used for a competition, venues, in sporting gear of any kind, associations, federations, and sports leagues; alcoholic beverages cannot be sold in any sports related activity carried out in a sports venue.

Perhaps soccer, as we explained before is not as affected by this law, although there is no denying they will likely receive a lot more money if the sponsorship of alcoholic drinks were allowed; however there are many other sports and athletes that are being affected by this law, such is the case of boxing and MMA, two disciplines that receive the strong support of beer companies in other countries, Tecate and Corona, for instance; in Costa Rica, this is not permitted, and therefore promoters do not have the resources needed to carry out world-class events, athletes have to find other companies that are willing to invest on them… but there is little interest if the events aren’t televised, and unless there is enough sponsorship there is no television. There are always companies interested in helping but they can only offer limited amounts of money based on the exposure they are going to receive, and it is not enough to cover the expenses of an elite athlete.

Ironically, there are bars almost in every other corner in Costa Rica, and if there’s no bar there’s a convenience store, liquor store, restaurant or other type of commerce where you can buy alcohol; international events like the Super Bowl, the Soccer World Cup, Boxing and MMA events, Spanish league soccer, etc. etc. are shown in cable television where the logos of liquor brands are widely present. So what is the point of this law?

According to the Costa Rican Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse (IAFA) sports and alcoholic beverages don’t go together, and allowing the sponsorship of these companies could incite children and teens to begin their consumption of alcohol at an earlier age…this last argument however is not a fact, just a supposition; and considering that the majority of the countries allow it, it seems as though there is no link between one thing and the other. Granted athletes and sports in general should always be linked to and encourage a healthy life style; but it is also fair that as part of their social responsibility programs companies that sell alcoholic beverages give back some of their earnings to young athletes and organizations that promote sporting activities and events.

Congressman Otto Guevara, has presented to the Asamblea Legistlativa, a bill requesting the modification of the law, to eliminate this prohibition and allow liquor companies to sponsor different disciplines in Costa Rica.

If this bill is passed, it could benefit many athletes and disciplines, and perhaps Costa Rica will have many more champions.