WSL Football is expanding the trial to offer supporters the choice to drink alcohol in the stands to 14 clubs across the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Super League 2 for the 2025/26 season.
Unlike men’s football in the UK, the women’s professional game is not covered by legislation in the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985 (SECAA 1985) which prohibits the consumption of alcohol in view of the pitch.
An initial version of the trial took place across four Barclays WSL2 clubs – Birmingham City, Bristol City, Newcastle United and Southampton – during the second half of the 2024-25 campaign.
This ran across 19 league fixtures between January and May 2025 and involved over 51,000 supporters.
And following the undertaking of a successful evaluation across fans, clubs and matchday staff, seven clubs from each division have signed up for the second phase of the trial that will run throughout 2025/26.
The outcomes of the aforementioned evaluation saw two-thirds of supporters surveyed (66%) in support of the trial going forwards, with 48% of those strongly supporting it, while many fans said that their experience of the overall game and matchday was improved.
From the games involved, there were no reported safety incidents, with 84% of fans surveyed rating their sense of safety between 9 and 10 out of 10, while over three-quarters of supporters also indicated that they would be likely to recommend games to friends and family.
From a club perspective, players and match officials noted no change to fan behaviour, while average expenditure by fans at stadiums, with regards to food and drink, increased across the fixtures, alongside a growth in attendances.
The clubs and venues set to take part in the next phase of the trial meanwhile are as follows:
Barclays Women’s Super League
Arsenal (Emirates Stadium)
Chelsea (Kingsmeadow & Stamford Bridge)*
Everton (Goodison Park)
Liverpool (St Helens & Anfield)
London City Lionesses (Hayes Lane)*
Manchester City (Joie Stadium)
Manchester United (Leigh Sports Village & Old Trafford)
Barclays Women’s Super League 2
Birmingham City (St Andrew’s)
Bristol City (Ashton Gate)
Crystal Palace (Sutton United)
Newcastle United (St James’ Park)*
Sheffield United (Bramall Lane)
Sunderland (Stadium of Light)
Southampton (St Mary’s Stadium)
Chelsea, London City Lionesses and Newcastle United’s involvement is subject to imminent SAG approval.
All clubs across both divisions were offered the opportunity to join the trial for the 2025-26 season, with 14 currently set to be involved.
Participating clubs have also consulted with key stakeholders including official supporter groups, with many venues set to provide the option of purchasing tickets in designated alcohol-free areas.
The aim of the trial’s expansion is to test at a larger scale across a full season, covering a broader range of stadiums, crowd sizes, and with the inclusion of clubs in London and the North West.
Clubs can implement this at as many fixtures as they wish, and details of designated areas within grounds (ie, across general admission and/or hospitality) will be communicated by each individual club. There is no minimum number of fixtures set for the trial.
Holly Murdoch – Chief Operating Officer for WSL Football – said: “Expanding this trial for the new campaign, encompassing our Barclays WSL teams and additional Barclays WSL2 clubs too, is part of our strategy to offer a best-in-class experience for our fans attending matches.
“Exploring giving supporters the choice to drink alcohol in the stands was something we were excited to trial and following such positive feedback from the proof-of-concept version, we’re looking forward to opening it up to more venues and equally, hearing from those at the heart of it – our clubs and supporters.”
