The History of Women’s Soccer – A Timeline
Soccer, or football, as it is known outside of the US, has a long and colourful history and while it might have been a male dominated sport a century ago, women’s soccer started in the late 19th century. Indeed, there were a number of women’s clubs in the 1890s, mainly based in London and Preston in the north of England.
The English FA bans women’s soccer
While one women’s game attracted 58,000 spectators in 1920, bad news was on the horizon in the form of the English Football Association, who, in 1921, banned women’s soccer at all of the FA grounds that were spread over the country. At around the same time, other footballing nations brought in similar regulations that stopped women competing, which kept a strangle hold on women’s football. The British Ladies Football Club was founded in 1894 by Nettie Honeyball; she and a few other prominent women pioneered the sport, refusing to accept anything other than full equality with men’s football. There are those who believe that the old FA cronies were actually jealous of the fact that the women’s game was popular, often drawing more spectators than men’s games.
The end of the FA ban
Sadly, women had to wait until 1970 before the FA ban was finally lifted and this empowered the women’s game to reach new heights. Another obstacle was the male biased attitude towards the game, which kept some spectators away, afraid to be seen and ridiculed for watching women’s football.
English Women’s FA
The English Women’s FA was formed in 1969, which many believe was largely due to England’s success in the 1966 World Cup. In 1970, a Women’s World Cup was organised by the Italian Football Association and it was a roaring success, despite having no support from FIFA. The event was sponsored by Martini & Rossi, an alcohol manufacturer and Denmark won the cup.
Professional Women’s Football
Again, it was Italy that led the way with women’s pro football and began to import foreign professional women players and a professional league was formed. Scandinavia also made progress setting up domestic leagues and in 1989, Japan created a semi-professional league, called the L. League and the women’s game flourished in the 1980s, with Australia and America joining the many other countries. The Indian women’s team have qualified for the Women’s Asian Cup.
FIFA Women’s World Cup
The first Women’s World Cup was organised by FIFA in 1991, held in China, with the USA beating Norway, the team that won the 1995 FIFA World Cup, beating Germany in the final. The USA also won the 1999 World Cup, beating China in the final; Germany won both the 2003 and 2007 World Cup. If you like to play the jackpot สล็อต pg machines found at the online casino, search with Google to find reputable online casinos.
Gender equality
It has been a long, hard road for the women’s football regarding gender equality; initially, women were paid a pittance when compared to the men’s game, yet certain women pioneered and campaigned, making significant progress.
We are happy to say that women’s football is every bit as popular as the men’s game and let’s hope things stay that way.