Women's football (soccer)
Women's association football (
Women's soccer) is the most prominent
team sport for
women in many countries, and one of the few women's team sports with
professional leagues.
Early Women's football
Women have been playing "football" for as long as the game has existed. Evidence shows that an ancient version of the game (
Tsu Chu) was played by women during the
Han Dynasty (25â€"
220 CE). Two female figures are depicted in
Han Dynasty (25â€"
220 CE) frescoes, playing Tsu Chu.
There are, however, a number of opinions about the accuracy of dates, the earliest estimates at
5000 BCE.
Europe's First Documented Matches
Association football, the modern game, also has documented early women's matches. In
Europe, it is possible that
12th c.
French women played football as part of that era's folk games. An annual competition in
Mid-Lothian,
Scotland during the
1790s is reported, too.
[The Scottish FA - "A Brief History of Women's Football"] ["Football history: Winning ways of wedded women"]. In
1863, football governing bodies introduced standardized rules to prohibit violence on the pitch, making it more socially acceptable for women to play. The first women's match recorded by the
Scottish Football Association took place in
1892 in
Glasgow. In
England, the first recorded game of football between women took place in
1895 [The FA - "Women's Football- A Brief History"] [BBC Sport - "How women's football battled for survival"].
The most well documented early European team was founded by activist,
Nettie Honeyball, in England,
1894. It was named the
British Ladies Football Club. Nettie Honeyball is quoted, "I founded the association late last year [1894], with the fixed resolve of proving to the world that women are not the ‘ornamental and useless' creatures men have pictured. I must confess, my convictions on all matters where the sexes are so widely divided are all on the side of
emancipation, and I look forward to the time when ladies may sit in
Parliament and have a voice in the direction of affairs, especially those which concern them most."
Honeyball and those like her paved the way for women's football. However, the women's game was frowned upon by the british football associations, and continued without their support. It has been suggested that exclusion of women was motivated by a perceived threat to the 'masculinity' of the game.
WWI Company Teams
Women's football first became popular on a large scale during
World War I, when employment of women in heavy industry spurred the growth of the game via company teams, much as it had done for men fifty years earlier. The most successful team of the era was
Dick, Kerr's Ladies of
Preston, England. Dick, Kerr's Ladies played in the first women's international matches in
1920. They played a team from
Paris,
France in April, and also made up most of the England team against
Scottish ladies in
1920, winning 22-0
. Dick, Kerr's Ladies returned to Scotland in
1921, for a second international with an audience of 6000. They also toured Scotland afterwards, playing five matches for 70,000 people in the stands.
Women Banned in England and Scotland
Despite being more popular than some men's football events (one match saw a 53,000 strong crowd), women's football in England and Scotland suffered a blow in
1921.
The Football Association, in England, banned women from playing the game on Association members' pitches, on the grounds that the game (as played by women) was distasteful. A similar decree was made by Scottish football authorities. Some speculated that these decisions may have been driven by envy of the large crowds that women's matches attracted.
[BBC Sport - "Trail-blazers who pioneered women's football"] The ban led to the formation of the
English Ladies Football Association, and women's football matches were moved to
rugby grounds. The ban limited public exposure for women's football and slowed its growth, but did not stop it. Women's football continued to draw dedicated players and fans.
The 'revival' of the women's game
The English
Women's FA was formed in
1969 (as a result of the increased interest generated by the
1966 World Cup)
[University of Leicester fact sheet on women's football], and the FA's ban on matches being played on members' grounds was finally lifted in
1971 . In the same year
UEFA recommended that the women's game should be taken under the control of the national associations in each country
.
In the
1970s,
Italy became the first country with professional women's football players, albeit on a part-time basis. The first full-time professional team was the
United States national squad, and in
1992, Japan was the first country to have a
semi-professional women's football league.
The 21st century
At the beginning of the
21st century women's football, like men's football, has become professionalised and is growing in both popularity and participation. From the first known professional team in 1984 , to the hundreds of thousands of tickets sold for the
1999 Women's World Cup [1999 Women's World Cup Ticket Sales], support of women's professional football (soccer) has increased around the globe.
However, as in other sports, women have struggled for pay and opportunities equal to male football players'. Major league and
international women's football enjoys far less television and media coverage than the men's equivalent. For instance the 2006
Algarve Cup, a significant international tournament, was televised very little in Europe (
Eurosport did broadcast some games) and none at all in the USA (where the women's game arguably has the highest profile) and other regions. Another example is that FIFA's Women's web site links to information about the men's team. In spite of this, the popularity and participation in women's football is expected to continue growing
[History in Asia].
The growth in women's football has seen major competitions being launched at both
national and
international level. For more information see
Women's football around the world and
International competitions in women's football respectively.
In
1937,
Dick, Kerr's Ladies played
Edinburgh Ladies in
"The Championship of Great Britain and the World", but there was no formal international tournament until
1982 when the first
UEFA European Competition For Representative Women's Teams was launched. The
1984 Finals was won by
Sweden. This competition name was succeeded by the
UEFA Women's Championship and today, is commonly referred to as the
Women's Euro.
Norway won, in the
1987 Finals. Since then, the
UEFA Women's Championship has been dominated by
Germany, which has won six of the seven subsequent competitions, including the
2005 Women's Euro.
The first
Women's World Cup was held in
China in
1991, and was won by the
USA. The third Cup, held in the
United States in
1999, drew worldwide
television interest and a final in front of a record-setting 90,000+
Los Angeles crowd, where the home team won 5-4 on
penalty kicks.
Youth Tournaments
Besides the United States and Germany (which won the
2003 World Cup), the strongest women's teams have traditionally been , , and , with nations like and
Canada emerging as powers.
In
2002, FIFA inaugurated a women's youth championship, officially called the
FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship. The first event was hosted by
Canada. The final was an all-
CONCACAF affair, with the USA defeating the host Canadians 1-0 with an extra-time
golden goal. The second event was held in
Thailand in
2004 and won by Germany. The age limit was raised to 20, starting with the
2006 event to be held in
Russia.
In
2008, FIFA will inaugurate an
under-17 world championship.
*
Women's sports*
List of football (soccer) players*
FA Women's Premier League*
Soccer mom*
FIFA Women's*
Women's World Football*
femaleSOCCER.net - UK girls and women's football*
Fair Game Magazine site - source of information on British women's football*
W-League - USA professional women's soccer/football*
Women's United Soccer Association (historic content, now defunct - USA) *
Women's Premier Soccer League (USA semi-pro)*
Upfront - a voice for female football fans*
FemaleFan*
Yahoo! Directory: Women's Football*
Pink Football's News on the Women's Game*
Directory of Women's and Girl's football Teams*
Women Football in Venezuela (South America)
