World menstrual health day
It’s World Menstrual Health Day 2026, a day that means a lot to us here at We are Girls in Sport.
We started our Play On campaign in 2022, a campaign for free period wear in sports clubs and venues. Periods are a major barrier to girls being active and it’s not all about the physical symptoms such as cramps and lethargy. Girls worry about their periods starting unexpectedly mid-game or practice, and not having period wear such as pads, tampons or period pants on hand.
As women’s sport continues to grow, businesses, councils and the sports industry as a whole needs to start investing in girls and their needs. Menstruating is a healthy, bodily function that impacts half the population. If we want to encourage and develop a physically and mentally healthy population, we need girls to be active, sporty and regular exercisers. And for that, we need to remove as many barriers as possible.
Today, we’re talking about sports venues, as well as smaller sports clubs and why it matters that the likes of the Allianz Stadium and Emirates Stadium provide free period wear. We are sick and tired of going to watch sports events in clubs and stadia, big and small, and there not being free period wear for spectators.
Yes, we’ve been campaigning for free period wear in sports clubs and venues for players and athletes since 2022, but it also matters for the spectators and support staff. Here are some reasons why:
Free period wear and the impact on a girl’s first experience of sport
For some girls, going to watch sport, either elite or grassroot, might be their first experience of people being active in a competitive setting.
We know that being active benefits girls at all ages, now and into the future. We want girls to be inspired. We want them to want to have a go. We want all girls to want to move their bodies. We want girls to want to be a great teammate. We want girls to want to achieve a personal best.
We want girls to go to the bathrooms, changing rooms and toilet facilities and see free period wear, even before they might need it. It shows that her and other girls’ needs have been considered. She matters. She’s seen.
You might think it’s insignificant but let’s take it right back: would she feel included if there weren’t any women’s bathrooms? No.
Would she feel as though she belonged in that sport if there were women’s toilets without toilet paper? No.
We need to think of period wear like toilet paper. We expect toilet paper to be there for free. Women and girls can’t help menstruating; it’s like peeing and pooping. So why shouldn’t there be free period wear too?
Seeing it that first time sets the tone for girls and women. They know that they matter and they know what they should expect.
Free period wear = Welcoming
For a long time, women and girls felt excluded from the world of sport. Sure, we played and competed but it was us trying to fit into a man’s world rather than that world of sport adapting.
Great leaps have been made, we can see progress (the Rugby World Cup is a great example) but there are still venues that don’t offer free period wear to spectators.
But that small step would make women and girls feel welcome. It would make them feel as though they belong.
Who carries cash?
So often in sports venues, we do see sanitary wear dispensers and that’s great. They’re in the women’s bathrooms/toilets, often near the sinks.
But, and here’s the catch, they’re totally old school. They still require cash: 25 cents, £1, whatever the amount, they’re out of date.
Since the COVID pandemic, many public places have become cashless. The global community is used to tapping with a credit or debit card to pay for items and many people just don’t carry cash and if they do, it’s not in change. How is a girl who’s leaked or whose period has arrived unexpectedly supposed to deal with that when she’s in the cubicle with no cash?
We’ll tell you how. It’s back to bundling up toilet paper and hoping that will work. Uncomfortable, indiscreet and ineffective.
Free period wear = Anxiety-free watching
Providing free period wear in the women’s toilets means that women and girls can watch sport without stress. They know they’re protected if they’re caught short or if they leak. This really adds to the experience and could be part of the motivation to return.
People invest in attending sporting events. Tickets cost a lot of money; they’re big business and organisers want a full house. Make sporting events appealing to women and girls by offering free sanitary wear.
Free period wear = Be a desirable employer
It might sound like a small thing but offering free period wear would be an employee benefit. Employees in sports venues and clubs, be them in facilities or team support staff, like sports fans, could be caught short by their period, whether they’re in their teens or hitting menopause.
As an employer, you would provide free toilet paper so you should provide free sanitary wear.
Free period wear boosts the bottom line
Women’s sport is booming. This year it is due to hit a global value of $3bn, an increase of 340% since 2022.
Sport is run by businesses and so they should care about taking advantage of the growth in women’s sport. Improving girls’ and women’s experience of watching sport is essential in encouraging female involvement and participation.
Ways your sports club or venue can provide free period wear
We love Egal’s Pads on a Roll. This is not an ad but we think it’s great that sanitary wear is available in the toilet cubicle, next to toilet paper. Pads on a Roll are as you’d imagine: sanitary pads on a roll! So simple but so effective and great for girls and women – they don’t have to leave the cubicle to locate period wear and can deal with bleeding quickly and easily so they’re not missing out on the sports action!
Egal’s Pads on a Roll
Another option would be to install a dispenser of free period wear or to create simple baskets of period wear. We are Girls in Sport worked with Sacramento Republic FC to provide an Aunt Flow dispenser in the women’s bathroom at Heart Health Park, California, and we spotted baskets at Lord’s cricket ground in London, UK. We know that lots of clubs in our community are providing baskets in the women’s bathrooms.
Aunt Flow free period wear dispenser at Heart Health Park, Sacramento, California
This World Menstrual Health Day, consider how menstruating is managed at your sports club or the venue where you work. Are you doing enough to make it a pleasurable, stress-free experience for your menstruating spectators and visitors, employees and team support staff? Are you seeing it as another cost or an investment?
We’d love to hear your thoughts – let us know in the comments!