Fans attending this summer’s FifaWomen’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will have to enter stadiums without frisbees, ladders, inflatable toys and many other prohibited items.
Football’s international governing body has issued lengthy advice to supporters attending the World Cup. The tournament begins next month and includes European champions the England Lionesses.
Rolls of paper, hard hats and certain types of umbrella are also banned. The process of actually getting into stadiums is far from a piece of cake, either — ingredients for which are also prohibited.
What’s more, unless fans agree to a code of conduct, they will not be allowed in.
Australia is famously tough on rules — being nicknamed the “fortress” during lockdown for its tough Covid-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, its airport customs are so hardline that they have spawned a reality series called Border Security.
If you are heading down under to watch women’s best footballers in action this summer, here are the restrictions you have to bear in mind.
The biggest #UnityBeat yet! 🎶🙌
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) June 26, 2023
4,000 football-loving fans combined to perform the Official Chant of #FIFAWWC. We can’t wait to hear this live in stadiums in just 24 days! Will you be there to witness it?
When is the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023?
The tournament kicks off on July 20 when New Zealand face Norway in Auckland. England’s first match is against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22.
There will be 64 games, including the final in Sydney on August 20.
How to attend the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023
Authorised tickets for the 2023 Women’s World Cup can be purchased only via the Fifa ticketing portal. To buy tickets for the event, fans must have a Fifa ticketing account requiring specific information.
Tickets do not include stadium parking access.
What are some of the items banned from stadiums?
Many of the restrictions for items are reasonable and commonplace, such as firearms, flares, explosives, extendable batons and cold steel weapons.
But the Fifa list of prohibited items goes on (and on, and on) to ban balloons, frisbees, inflatable toys, and beach balls — the latter to perhaps prevent a Darren Bent-esque goal from being scored.
Items used in martial arts and extreme sports are banned, as are those you might expect to find on a building site. These include ladders, steps, benches, folding chairs, construction tools, and hard hats.
Those with refined seating tastes will unfortunately have to slum it on the stadium chairs. Fifa has gone as far as to clarify that furniture is not allowed.
Cake is permitted but, if you are sitting through a joyless stalemate, you will be forbidden from attempting to make one as sugar and flour are outlawed as white powders. Jam is banned too, as are all “forms of capped receptacles”. Should you need to ask, ovens are also not allowed inside.
If you want a drink, your choices are — despite Australia’s growing craft beer scene — Budweiser or Coke. This might not please Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ukraine’s Andriy Yarmolenko’s agent might sense a sponsorship opportunity.
Supporters with strong political or societal views will also have to be wary if they attend the tournament — and keep such thoughts in the four walls of their minds.
Fifa’s guidance states: “Any materials … that are of a political, offensive and/or, discriminatory nature, containing wording, symbols or any other attributes aimed at discrimination of any kind [are not allowed].”
