Brighton becomes first Premier League football team to offer free sanitary towels in its stadium

Brighton and Hove Albion FC will be the first Premier League club to offer free pads and tampons in its stadium in a bid to tackle period poverty.

The team is now one of thirteen football teams in the UK that will offer free sanitary products to fans.

On The Ball’s campaign

The decision came after three student Celtic supporters campaigned for the club to provide free pads and tampons for those in need using their facilities.

Orlaith Duffy, Erin Slaven and Mikaela McKinle, are the founders of the On The Ball campaign, which is encouraging football clubs to offer free sanitary products in their stadiums.

“It’s important for football clubs to be inclusive and we hope this will encourage fans to think they are being listened to,” said Mikaela McKinle.

‘We want to empower supporters’

However, the team said that they are not forcing the hand of the clubs in question.

“We don’t want to force any clubs to do anything but we want to empower supporters to encourage their clubs to provide free sanitary products either by making existing dispensing machines free of charge or by making boxes of tampons and sanitary towels available,” said campaigner Mikaela McKinley.

Hey! We are Orlaith, Erin and Mikaela. We successfully campaigned for free sanitary product provision @ our own club, Celtic. Now, our goal is for other teams to follow Celtic’s example and get #OnTheBall pic.twitter.com/qQtykDw2x0

— On The Ball (@OnTheBaw) June 29, 2018

“It’s our experience that they will only be used in emergencies anyway.”

However, it has not been an easy journey for the students.

They said they have often found it awkward discussing periods with middle-aged men who dominate club boardrooms.

“We knew we had to be confident and not be too intimidated as three young women going into a male-dominated sphere,” Erin Slaven told the BBC.

‘Other hygiene essentials aren’t something you’re required to pay for’

Barnsley FC is also offering free pads and towels to its fans as part of the initiative.

One fan called the supply of menstruation products “bloomin’ marvellous.”

The chief executive of the club, Gauthier Ganaye, said that Barnsley wanted to highlight On The Ball’s work of tackling “a taboo subject in a sporting environment”.

Never seen this in a football ground before. Bloomin’ marvellous. Chapeau ⁦@BarnsleyFC⁩. #barnsleyfc #afcwimbledon pic.twitter.com/Sqkv4IXxz9

— Hazel (@hackneyhaz) August 18, 2018

“When you consider that toilet roll and other hygiene essentials aren’t something you are required to pay for in public toilets, then you raise the question as to why a lady shouldn’t have to pay for sanitary products,” he said.

Forerunners in tackling period poverty

The girls’ campaign has hit the ground running in Scotland.

The nation is considered to be a forerunner in tackling period poverty. As well as offering menstruation products to every student in need, it also offers the products to people in low-income households.

Two in five surveyed have been forced to use toilet roll to manage their period because they couldn’t afford sanitary products

Those who have experienced period poverty are more likely to suffer from anxiety or depression, struggle to pay their bills and have an unfulfilling love life.