Drinking in stands to be trialled at select football matches in England

It is not yet confirmed which teams will take part in the trial

The head of Women’s Professional Leagues Limited announced on Thursday that drinking alcohol in stands will be trialled at two clubs in the second tier of women’s football in England.

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.

Although government legislation initially applied only to men's football, the women's game has since adopted the same rule for the top two tiers.

However, WPLL CEO Nikki Doucet said the demographic of women's football fans meant allowing alcohol in the stands was something that could be introduced.

Speaking at The Summit, part of the Leaders Week London gathering of senior executives in global sport, she said: “We are testing that in a couple of teams in the Championship this season and we will see what we will learn from that.

“I think the behaviour of our fan base is different. It is about giving our fans choices while maintaining safety and being responsible.”

It has not yet been confirmed which two teams are taking part in the trial.

Many top-tier Women’s Super League sides play some if not all of their home games at the men’s stadiums but Championship sides play at much smaller venues with an average attendance of around 2,000 or lower, making the trial much more manageable.

The independent WPLL took charge of the top two tiers of women’s football in August, taking over from the FA.

Doucet also addressed talks of changes to the broadcast blackout as the company looks to maximise exposure for the two divisions, however she confirmed there were no plans in place currently.

She said: “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.

“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.”