- Four fields from the entire women's championship will host the tests
- Drinking alcohol in the stands is prohibited in the first five categories of men's football
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Women's football matches will test alcohol consumption in the stands, in a move that could see a change to the sport's rules around alcohol in the future.
Drinking alcoholic beverages in the stands and within sight of the field at men's matches in the top five divisions has been prohibited since the 1985 Sports Events Law.
As such, fans caught violating the law can be punished by expulsion from grounds, surrender of strong fans and, in extreme circumstances, three-month prison sentences.
However, women's football is not governed by the same restrictive legislation regarding alcohol consumption at matches.
As such, following discussions last year, there will be testing at select matches across the country taking place from January 19 through the end of the season.
Test grounds include Newcastle, Bristol City, Birmingham and Southampton, all of which are in the Championship.
In a Women's Championship event, the ban on consuming alcohol in the stands will be temporarily lifted
The WSL is not subject to the 1985 Act, however competition rules still prohibit drinking in the stands.
The stadiums were believed to have been selected due to their layout across the country, safety procedures and the fact that Bristol City's Ashton Gate and Newcastle's Kingston Park already see fans drinking in the stands at rugby matches. .
Over the course of 2024, there were no arrests at any women's games, contrasting with rising numbers at men's games, with 96 football-related arrests in 2023-24.
“We're trialling this with a couple of Championship teams this season and we'll see what we learn from it,” Nikki Doucet, chief executive of Women's Professional League Ltd, said in October.
Doucet's WPLL was created to manage the Women's Super League (WSL) and the Women's Championship, the top two tiers of women's football in England.
“Our fans and our behavior are different from those of men's football,” he added.
“It's about giving our fans options while staying safe and being responsible.”
Success in testing could see the measures implemented in wider women's matches with a view to becoming a permanent feature across the Championship and WSL.
Women's football has its own rules against drinking alcohol in the stands, but rather than lobbying parliament to change the law, it would just have to amend its own guidelines to make the change.
Nikki Doucet is the chief executive of Women's Professional Leagues Limited, the body in charge of the WSL and the women's championship.
As such, the path to a rule change is much easier than it would seem for men's football to adopt a similar protocol.
Greater success in this area could have a knock-on effect across men's football, with the potential to review measures across all stadiums.
However, one could imagine that such an event would require a reduction in behavioral issues in men's games, which could encourage further modifications.
According to the q report of October the sunThe police position has not changed regarding men's football, although they would have no “mechanism” that would allow them to prevent prosecution in women's matches.