Dr Robin Ireland
- Honorary Research Fellow (School of Health & Wellbeing)
email:
Robin.Ireland@glasgow.ac.uk
School of Health and Wellbeing, Clarice Pears Building, University of Glasgow, 90 Byres Road, G12 8TB
Biography
Robin Ireland has worked in public health since 1984, including being employed by Princes Park Health Centre in Liverpool 8 and Mersey Regional Health Authority amongst others.
He is the former Chief Executive of the Health Equalities Group (HEG) charity based in Liverpool. Ireland established the organisation in 2002, followed by Healthy Stadia in 2004 and Food Active in 2013, both part of HEG, and is now an Honorary Director of Research with the charity. He has since worked with the University of Dundee and Obesity Action Scotland. Robin was elected Member of the UK Faculty of Public Health through Distinction in 2015.
Robin received a BA (Hons) in Development Studies at the University of East Anglia and gained his MPH at the University of Liverpool. He was awarded his PhD by the University of Glasgow in 2021. His thesis was on the Commercial Determinants of Health in Sport.
Research interests
- Commercial determinants of health
- Marketing by unhealthy commodity industries in sport and in general
- The commercialisation of sport
- Whole systems approaches to healthy weight (including diet and physical activity)
- Systems leadership
- Qualitative research
Publications
2025
Ireland, R., Muc, M., Bunn, C. and Boyland, E. (2025) Marketing of unhealthy brands during the 2018 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup UK broadcasts – a frequency analysis. In: Manoli, A. E. (ed.) Strategic Brand Management In and Through Sport. Routledge: London. ISBN 9781032968278
2024
Ireland, R. (2024) Champions League 2024: Uefa’s decision to team up with a gambling giant will come at a high social cost. Conversation, 17 Sep.
Ireland, R., Bunn, C. , Chambers, S. and Reith, G. (2024) Exploring fields of power in the English Premier League. A qualitative study into unhealthy sponsorships. Sport in Society, 27(9), pp. 1419-1436. (doi: 10.1080/17430437.2023.2300434)
Long, J. W., Maksi, S. J., Frías, F. J. L., Ireland, R. and Masterson, T. D. (2024) Content analysis of food and beverage marketing in global esports: Sponsorships of the premier events, leagues, teams and players. BMJ Public Health, 2(1), e000095. (doi: 10.1136/bmjph-2023-000095)
Ireland, R., Muc, M., Bunn, C. and Boyland, E. (2024) Marketing of unhealthy brands during the 2018 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup UK broadcasts – a frequency analysis. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 32(6), pp. 762-777. (doi: 10.1080/0965254X.2021.1967427)
2023
Ireland, R. (2023) Brand engagement in a digital age: marketing gambling to Newcastle United Fans. In: McGee, D. and Bunn, C. (eds.) Gambling and Sports in a Global Age. Series: Research in the Sociology of Sport, 18. Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 25-39. ISBN 9781801173056 (doi: 10.1108/S1476-285420230000018003)
Ireland, R. (2023) Red Bull’s F1 dominance showcases the extreme power of sports marketing. Conversation, 7 Jul.
Ireland, R. (2023) Sport, Sponsorship and Public Health. Series: Routledge research in physical activity and health. Routledge: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, N.Y.. ISBN 9781032145181
2022
Ireland, R. (2022) Alcohol related harms and elite men’s football. British Medical Journal, 379, o2906. (doi: 10.1136/bmj.o2906) (PMID:36543356)
Ireland, R., Bunn, C. , Chambers, S. , Reith, G. and Viggars, M. (2022) How unhealthy commodity industries find a global audience in the English Premier League: three case studies of brand engagement. Soccer and Society, 23(4-5), pp. 334-348. (doi: 10.1080/14660970.2022.2059861)
Gokani, N., Garde, A., Philpott, M., Ireland, R., Owens, R. and Boyland, E. (2022) UK Nutrition Research Partnership ‘Hot Topic’ workshop report: a ‘game changer’ for dietary health – addressing the implications of sport sponsorship by food businesses through an innovative interdisciplinary collaboration. Nutrition Bulletin, 47(1), pp. 115-122. (doi: 10.1111/nbu.12535)
2021
2019
Ireland, R., Chambers, S. and Bunn, C. (2019) Exploring the relationship between Big Food corporations and professional sports clubs: a scoping review. Public Health Nutrition, 22(10), pp. 1888-1897. (doi: 10.1017/S1368980019000545) (PMID:30935432) (PMCID:PMC6558258)
Ireland, R. and Boyland, E. (2019) Sports sponsorship and young people: good or bad for health? BMJ Paediatrics Open, 3(1), e000446. (doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2019-000446) (PMID:31338427) (PMCID:PMC6613843)
Ireland, R., Bunn, C. , Reith, G. , Philpott, M., Capewell, S., Boyland, E. and Chambers, S. (2019) Commercial determinants of health and sport sponsorship. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 97(4), pp. 290-295. (doi: 10.2471/BLT.18.220087) (PMID:30940986) (PMCID:PMC6438257)
Bunn, C. , Ireland, R., Minton, J. , Holman, D., Philpott, M. and Chambers, S. (2019) Shirt sponsorship by gambling companies in the English and Scottish Premier Leagues: global reach and public health concerns. Soccer and Society, 20(6), pp. 824-835. (doi: 10.1080/14660970.2018.1425682)
2017
Ireland, R., Bunn, C. and Chambers, S. (2017) The relationship between big food corporations and professional sports clubs: a scoping review. Lancet, 390(Suppl3), S48. (doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32983-5)
Articles
Ireland, R. (2024) Champions League 2024: Uefa’s decision to team up with a gambling giant will come at a high social cost. Conversation, 17 Sep.
Ireland, R., Bunn, C. , Chambers, S. and Reith, G. (2024) Exploring fields of power in the English Premier League. A qualitative study into unhealthy sponsorships. Sport in Society, 27(9), pp. 1419-1436. (doi: 10.1080/17430437.2023.2300434)
Long, J. W., Maksi, S. J., Frías, F. J. L., Ireland, R. and Masterson, T. D. (2024) Content analysis of food and beverage marketing in global esports: Sponsorships of the premier events, leagues, teams and players. BMJ Public Health, 2(1), e000095. (doi: 10.1136/bmjph-2023-000095)
Ireland, R., Muc, M., Bunn, C. and Boyland, E. (2024) Marketing of unhealthy brands during the 2018 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup UK broadcasts – a frequency analysis. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 32(6), pp. 762-777. (doi: 10.1080/0965254X.2021.1967427)
Ireland, R. (2023) Red Bull’s F1 dominance showcases the extreme power of sports marketing. Conversation, 7 Jul.
Ireland, R. (2022) Alcohol related harms and elite men’s football. British Medical Journal, 379, o2906. (doi: 10.1136/bmj.o2906) (PMID:36543356)
Ireland, R., Bunn, C. , Chambers, S. , Reith, G. and Viggars, M. (2022) How unhealthy commodity industries find a global audience in the English Premier League: three case studies of brand engagement. Soccer and Society, 23(4-5), pp. 334-348. (doi: 10.1080/14660970.2022.2059861)
Gokani, N., Garde, A., Philpott, M., Ireland, R., Owens, R. and Boyland, E. (2022) UK Nutrition Research Partnership ‘Hot Topic’ workshop report: a ‘game changer’ for dietary health – addressing the implications of sport sponsorship by food businesses through an innovative interdisciplinary collaboration. Nutrition Bulletin, 47(1), pp. 115-122. (doi: 10.1111/nbu.12535)
Ireland, R. and Bunn, C. (2021) Euro 2020: football’s promotion of unhealthy consumption must end. Conversation, 14 June.
Ireland, R., Chambers, S. and Bunn, C. (2019) Exploring the relationship between Big Food corporations and professional sports clubs: a scoping review. Public Health Nutrition, 22(10), pp. 1888-1897. (doi: 10.1017/S1368980019000545) (PMID:30935432) (PMCID:PMC6558258)
Ireland, R. and Boyland, E. (2019) Sports sponsorship and young people: good or bad for health? BMJ Paediatrics Open, 3(1), e000446. (doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2019-000446) (PMID:31338427) (PMCID:PMC6613843)
Ireland, R., Bunn, C. , Reith, G. , Philpott, M., Capewell, S., Boyland, E. and Chambers, S. (2019) Commercial determinants of health and sport sponsorship. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 97(4), pp. 290-295. (doi: 10.2471/BLT.18.220087) (PMID:30940986) (PMCID:PMC6438257)
Bunn, C. , Ireland, R., Minton, J. , Holman, D., Philpott, M. and Chambers, S. (2019) Shirt sponsorship by gambling companies in the English and Scottish Premier Leagues: global reach and public health concerns. Soccer and Society, 20(6), pp. 824-835. (doi: 10.1080/14660970.2018.1425682)
Ireland, R., Bunn, C. and Chambers, S. (2017) The relationship between big food corporations and professional sports clubs: a scoping review. Lancet, 390(Suppl3), S48. (doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32983-5)
Books
Ireland, R. (2023) Sport, Sponsorship and Public Health. Series: Routledge research in physical activity and health. Routledge: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, N.Y.. ISBN 9781032145181
Book Sections
Ireland, R., Muc, M., Bunn, C. and Boyland, E. (2025) Marketing of unhealthy brands during the 2018 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup UK broadcasts – a frequency analysis. In: Manoli, A. E. (ed.) Strategic Brand Management In and Through Sport. Routledge: London. ISBN 9781032968278
Ireland, R. (2023) Brand engagement in a digital age: marketing gambling to Newcastle United Fans. In: McGee, D. and Bunn, C. (eds.) Gambling and Sports in a Global Age. Series: Research in the Sociology of Sport, 18. Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 25-39. ISBN 9781801173056 (doi: 10.1108/S1476-285420230000018003)
