Starting from the 2025/26 season, sunflower seeds will no longer be allowed at Mestalla. Valencia CF announced that the decision aims to improve health and comfort in the stands, as well as address problems related to maintaining cleanliness around the stadium.

Health and cleanliness as priorities

This measure has been taken to guarantee health in the stands of our stadium, considering that throwing sunflower seed shells on the ground poses a sanitary problem, clogs pipes, and generates all kinds of inconveniences for neighbors living next to Mestalla during cleaning days after each match, the club said in an official statement.

Valencia had already removed sunflower seeds from its official catering options two years ago. Now, the club is taking another step forward by banning their consumption during matches. The club appeals to fans for cooperation and stresses that shared responsibility is key to feeling at home in the stadium.

For many football supporters, pipas have been an inseparable part of the matchday atmosphere for decades. That tradition is now coming to an end at Mestalla. I don’t know what they want to turn football into; soon we’ll have to go to the stadium in a black tie, joked one fan when asked about the new rules.

Vendors are also feeling the change. There’s less than an hour to kick-off and I’ve only sold one pack, while on a normal day I could sell five boxes, sometimes over a hundred. Look, it’s noticeable... admitted one street seller around Mestalla.

© Jörg Pochert

Bans in Spanish football

This is already the third major ban in force at the oldest stadium in La Liga. The first came with the elimination of alcohol, introduced by the 1990 Sports Law. For decades, football was strongly tied to advertisements for cognac and brandy, but today alcoholic drinks have disappeared from the stands – except in VIP areas.

The next step was tobacco restrictions. Valencia, along with Barcelona, Valladolid, Athletic Bilbao, and Real Sociedad, banned smoking in 2021, making use of the pandemic restrictions. Now, sunflower seeds have been added to the list.

© Mark Schofield

Not only Valencia

Valencia is not the first Spanish club to crack down on piperos. Real Sociedad launched a campaign years ago urging fans to stop eating sunflower seeds, estimating that this habit produced up to three tons of waste per season at Anoeta. In May, Elche banned pipas at Martínez Valero, citing blocked drains and the attraction of rats and pigeons. Even earlier, in 2012, Eldense put up posters at Estadio Nuevo Pepico Amat warning that the consumption of sunflower seeds was prohibited.

The list of prohibited items at Mestalla continues to grow. In addition to alcohol, tobacco, and pipas, fans cannot bring suitcases, large backpacks, pointed umbrellas, professional cameras, vuvuzelas, drums, confetti, gas horns, scooters, or bottles larger than 0.5 liters or without caps. Vaping is also banned.