Football’s alcohol ban will be lifted in a trial during women’s championship matches, with two stadiums taking part in the test in England’s second tier.

Alcohol is banned in sight of the pitch in the top five tiers of men’s football, although it is permitted further down the pyramid and in women’s football. Fans participating in the trial will be able to take their drinks to their seats during the match.

Alcohol is sold in stadium concourses before and during matches but cannot be brought into the stands.

Nikki Doucet, chief executive of Women’s Professional Leagues Limited, said the clubs and stadiums participating in the trial had not yet been confirmed.

“We’re testing this in a few Championship teams this season and we’ll see what we get from it,” she said during London’s Leaders Week at the Allianz Stadium. “Our fan base and their behavior is different from men’s football.

“At the end of the day, it’s about being able to give our fans choices, while obviously maintaining safety and what we need to do in terms of accountability.”

The proposal is not a new concept, however. Former sports minister Tracey Crouch raised the idea that supporters of teams in League Two and below could drink inside the ‘stadium bowl’ in her 2021 fan-led review.

However, the idea was rejected by police chiefs despite support from supporters groups and League Two bosses. The Sun claims the police stance has not changed on the issue of men’s football, although she is powerless to prevent local forces from preventing such a trial in women’s football.

In 2023, EFL head of safety and security operations Bob Eastwood said there was a “lack of evidence” to support an outright ban during his testimony to the House of Commons during a discussion about football safety.

Drinking in front of the pitch has been banned in the top five men’s divisions since 1985 and those who break the law can even be sentenced to three months in prison.

In Scotland, the government confirmed it was “seriously considering” suspending alcohol consumption in football stadiums for several decades. Fans have not been allowed to drink at matches since 1980, when Celtic and Rangers fans stormed the pitch and threw beer cans during the Scottish Cup final.

“Things have moved on in football and we need to look at this as a way of helping football clubs generate more money,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister George Adam told MFR radio.

“You already drink alcohol at football matches in the corporate (sections), it’s just a matter of finding other areas or areas on the pitch to do it and making sure it’s safe. “This is a safe and controlled environment.”