Allowing fans to drink alcohol in the stands is set to be trialled in the Women’s Championship.
The consumption of alcohol in the stands of the top five tiers of English men’s football has been banned since 1985 to curb hooliganism.
Government legislation applies only to men’s football, but the women’s game has since adopted the same rule for the top two tiers.
Now Women’s Professional Leagues Ltd chief executive Nikki Doucet has said the profile of women’s football fans means allowing alcohol in the stands was something that could be introduced.
“We are testing that in a couple of teams in the Championship this season and we will see what we will learn from that,” Doucet said at The Summit, part of the Leaders Week London gathering of senior executives in global sport.
“I think the behaviour of our fan base is different. It is about giving our fans choices while maintaining safety and being responsible.”
No decision has yet been made on which two clubs will undertake the trials.
Women’s football in England has not been blighted by the hooliganism that has affected the men’s game in the past.
Many top-tier Women’s Super League sides play matches at the men’s stadiums but Championship teams play at smaller venues with average attendances of around 2,000 or lower.
A fan-led review recommended a pilot in the men’s game at League Two and National League matches back in 2022, but the idea was dismissed by the UK’s football policing lead, chief constable Mark Roberts.
“I see no evidence base for it, I don’t see a massive clamour for it,” he said in September of that year.
“I think the situation we’ve got is perfectly acceptable and I remain absolutely opposed to any relaxation of alcohol in football.”
The independent WPLL officially took charge of the top two tiers of women’s football in England from the FA in August.
Although exploring ways to maximise exposure for the two divisions, Doucet said there were no plans to try to alter the Saturday 3pm broadcast blackout that exists in Britain.
“There’s complexity of being in the broader football ecosystem. We share stakeholders in the Premier League and EFL [English Football League] and we need to think about the purpose of why that [blackout] is there,” Doucet said.
“At the moment, that’s something that will stay and the concept of partnership is so important. We share stadiums so the fixture and broadcast schedule is important so the fans are being served as best we can.”
