We recently received this letter from a concerned reader and would like to share it with you. When I first saw this advert being aired on TV, I was also in shock and could not believe that they asked the players to promote beer. I believe someone got this all wrong and this advert should never have been aired.

Dear Sir

I do not know whether you are the right person to address this e-mail to, but I hope you will be able to assist that the message get passed on to the correct addressee.

It is out of concern that I bring to your attention my utter disappointment in the Castle Lager advert screened on television  during half -time when Bafana – Bafana played against Tunisia.

My concern is that our young boys  and girls look to these players as their role models and if this is what they see great soccer players do — drinking beer — it may just convey the message that one should drink beer to become a great sports person. We have few enough role models in our disadvantaged communities and we often tell our children to look at the sportsmen and  -women of our country as their role models.

We often share stories to the likes of Benny Mc Carthy and Quinton Fortune – boys from the Cape flats, rising above their situations and making a success of their lives.

It saddens me to think that we sent a confused message to the children of South Africa. Castle Lager is also a sponsor of the Proteas and I cannot recall ever seeing an advert of the players sporting the beer. Please correct me if I’m wrong in this regard. I do not think that Castle Lager alone has to take the responsibility if our sportsmen willingly participated in the making of this advert. I shall also write to Castle Lager to express my concerns.

I sincerely hope that this advert will not be screened again.

I shall be pleased to receive your reply herein.