Drinking alcohol in stands to be trialled at some football matches in England

Liam GracePublished Oct 24, 2024, 12:07pm|Updated Oct 24, 2024, 12:09pm

Football fans volition beryllium allowed to portion intoxicant successful the stands astatine matches of 2 second-tier women’s clubs successful England arsenic portion of a caller trial.

In English men’s football, supporters are banned from consuming intoxicant successful the stands from the Premier League down to to the fifth-tier National League.

The prohibition has been successful spot for 39 years – and portion government authorities initially lone applied to men’s shot – the regularisation was since adopted successful the women’s game.

Currently, shot fans cannot portion intoxicant successful the stands for matches successful the top-flight Women’s Super League (WSL) and second-tier Women’s Championship.

But that could each beryllium acceptable to alteration amid a caller trial. Here’s everything you request to know…

Why are English shot fans banned from drinking intoxicant successful the stands?

The drinking of intoxicant successful the stands of English shot grounds and stadium areas with views of the transportation was banned successful bid to curb hooliganism successful 1985.

The Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act was passed by a Margaret Thatcher-led Conservative government, which made it a transgression offence to:

• Be drunk astatine a shot ground
• Drink intoxicant wrong presumption of the transportation from 15 minutes earlier the commencement of the lucifer to 15 minutes aft the extremity of the match
• Drink intoxicant connected definite coaches, trains and centrifugal vehicles travelling to a shot match

When is the proceedings starting, wherefore is it happening present and which clubs are taking part?

The caput of Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), Nikki Doucet, says the proceedings volition instrumentality spot during the existent 2024-25 Women’s Championship season.

The WPLL became autarkic from the Football Association (FA) successful August – taking complaint of the apical 2 tiers of women’s shot successful England – and Doucet has highlighted differences betwixt fans of men’s shot and women’s football.

‘We are investigating [the proceedings at] a mates of teams successful the Championship this play and we volition spot what we volition larn from that,’ Doucet said.

‘I deliberation the behaviour of our instrumentality basal [in women’s football] is different. It is astir giving our fans choices portion maintaining information and being responsible.’

It should beryllium noted that nary determination has yet been made connected which 2 clubs volition undertake the trials.

What person fans said astir the caller trial?

Supporters person mostly welcomed the proceedings and consciousness it could beryllium a large boost for women’s football.

One fan, @rmvsch posted connected Instagram that it was a ‘good way’ to get much radical watching women’s matches. A 2nd fan, @iconic.vomit said the proceedings was ‘marketing astatine its finest’ and could promote much men to be matches.

Another fan, @HelsBels2102, agreed with Doucet’s presumption that the crowds successful men’s shot and women’s shot are mostly antithetic and is ‘chuffed’ astir the trial.

‘I would beryllium chuffed if this happens,’ the idiosyncratic posted connected Reddit. ‘I don’t get [drunk], but I emotion a mates of beers astatine the football. It conscionable hits right. And saves you downing your pint earlier and astatine fractional clip which conscionable makes your much [drunk].

‘And it’s not similar the women’s games bring the aforesaid benignant of assemblage arsenic the men’s. I deliberation this is simply a bully shout.’

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