Heineken Secures 10 Years of Alcohol Marketing at Ajax – And Calls It “Sustainability”

Heineken’s 10-year sponsorship deal with Ajax football club is strategic move to entrench alcohol deeper into football culture while masking itself as a “sustainability partner.” This is blatant greenwashing, allowing Heineken to maintain its dominance in the football world while trying to avoidi scrutiny for the harm caused by its products.

Ajax is one of the most popular clubs in Europe, with a massive fanbase that includes countless children and teenagers. Football sponsorship is a calculated tactic for alcohol brands to condition young people into linking beer with the excitement and passion of the sport, securing future consumers before they’re even legally allowed to drink. Heineken’s branding will be unavoidable –plastered across the stadium, digital campaigns, and Ajax’s social media channels, reaching millions of young fans. By securing such a long-term sponsorship, Heineken guarantees that its name will be embedded in Ajax culture, reinforcing the idea that alcohol is an integral part of football.

Sponsorships offer an opportunity to keep brands visible to young audiences under the guise of supporting sports. Heineken has used this strategy for years, embedding itself in major football events like the UEFA Champions League while pretending to promote “responsible drinking.” Now, Ajax is helping them push the same narrative while selling alcohol sponsorship as a sustainability initiative.

The irony is impossible to ignore. Heineken’s environmental footprint is enormous, from excessive water use to plastic waste, yet Ajax has handed them a greenwashed platform to appear as a responsible corporate partner. Parents of young Ajax fans should be asking why their club is so willing to help Heineken secure future consumers. This deal isn’t about football, sustainability, or partnership—it’s about Heineken ensuring its place in the minds of young fans for the next decade.

Promotion, or any marketing strategies, is Big Alcohol’s activity to drive alcohol availability and acceptability, to perpetuate the alcohol norm, and to place alcohol at the center of people’s thoughts and preferences, communities’ practices, and societies’ customs. The focus of this DUBIOUS FIVE strategy is the people and their beliefs about alcohol products, the public and their attitudes about and behavior around alcohol products, and the consumers and how much, how often they buy and consume alcohol brands.

Source:
https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2025/03/12/ajax-settle-10-years-heineken-pouring/

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