Football’s alcohol ban will be lifted in a trial during Women’s Championship matches, with two stadiums taking part in the test in the English second tier.
Booze is prohibited in sight of the pitch in all top five tiers of the men’s game, though allowed lower down the pyramid and in women’s football. Fans taking part in the trial will be able to take their drinks up to their seats while the match is being played.
Alcohol is sold in the concourses of stadiums before and during games but cannot be brought into the stands.
Nikki Doucet, chief executive of Women’s Professional Leagues Limited, said that the clubs and stadiums taking part in the trial had not yet been confirmed.
“We are testing that actually in a couple of teams in the Championship this season and we’ll see what we learn from it,” she said at Leaders Week London at the Allianz Stadium. “Our fan base and the behaviour is different to the men’s game.
“Ultimately it’s about being able to give our fans choices, while obviously maintaining the safety and what we need to do in terms of being responsible.”
The proposal is not a new concept, however. Former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch broached the idea of fans at League Two sides and below being able to drink inside the ‘stadium bowl’ in her 2021 Fan-led Review.
However, the idea was shot down by police chiefs despite support from fan groups and League Two bosses. The Sun claim that the police’s position has not changed on the matter in men’s football, though they are powerless to stop local forces from preventing such a trial in the women’s game.
In 2023, the EFL’s Head of Security and Safety Operations Bob Eastwood said there was a “lack of evidence” to support the outright ban when giving evidence in the House of Commons during a discussion on football safety.
Drinking in view of the pitch has been banned in the top five male divisions since 1985 and those caught breaking that law can even land three-month prison sentences.
In Scotland, the government confirmed that it was giving “serious consideration” to a decades-long suspension of alcohol in football stadiums. Supporters have been banned from drinking at games completely since 1980 when Celtic and Rangers fans stormed the pitch and threw beer cans during the Scottish Cup final.
“Things have moved on in football and we need to look at this as a way of helping football clubs be able to generate more money,” Minister for Parliamentary Business George Adam told MFR radio station.
“You already have alcohol at football games in corporate [sections], it’s just a case of finding other areas or zones in grounds to do that and make sure it’s a safe and controlled environment.”
