Women’s Super League and WSL2 clubs can permit supporters to drink alcohol in view of the pitch from next season, the Guardian can reveal, after a change to the leagues’ regulations on the back of a successful trial over the past 18 months.

Not all clubs will necessarily take up the opportunity, but it is understood WSL Football’s shareholders have approved the change. Clubs will be expected to inform their fans whether they will allow the practice, and in which areas of stadiums it will be permitted.

Drinking alcohol in view of the pitch is banned across English men’s football’s top five leagues, in accordance with the Sporting Events Act of 1985. The WSL was not tied to that legislation but opted to follow suit while run by the Football Association. After the league split from the FA in 2024 a pilot scheme was introduced to test whether a change could be beneficial.

Birmingham, Bristol City, Newcastle and Southampton took part in a second-tier trial from January 2025 and that was expanded to include 20 clubs, 29 venues and 190 matches in the 2025-26 season across the top two divisions.

More than 4,000 fans were surveyed last summer, in January and at the end of the recent season, and the proportion of respondents supporting the idea grew from 58% to 69% over the past year. More than 90% of those surveyed continued to say they felt WSL matches had a safe atmosphere and remained family friendly.

WSL officials have frequently spoken about wanting to test innovative ways in which the women’s game can try to modernise and appeal to new fans, and this process is regarded as an example.

The comparatively low incidences of crowd trouble in women’s football have been a key factor under consideration throughout this process. Government data for the 2023-24 season showed there were no arrests recorded at any women’s football matches in England and Wales.

The WSL and WSL 2 seasons will begin on the weekend of 4-6 September.