Women’s association football, simply women’s football, is the team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries throughout the world and 176 national teams participate internationally. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The history of women ‘s football has seen competitions being launched at both the national and international levels. Although the “ first golden age ” of women ‘s football occurred in the United Kingdom in the 1920s, with one match attracting over 50,000 spectators, [ 3 ] The Football Association initiated a ban in 1921 in England that disallowed women ‘s football games from taking place on the grounds used by its member clubs. That ban remained in effect until July 1971. [ 4 ]
The inauguration FIFA Women ‘s World Cup was held in China in 1991. [ 5 ] Since then, the sport has gained in popularity. [ 6 ] The 2015 FIFA Women ‘s World Cup Final in Canada was the most watch football game in United States history [ 7 ] and over 1.12 billion people worldwide watched the 2019 FIFA Women ‘s World Cup in France. [ 8 ]
history [edit ]
japanese high-school girls playing football in their traditional hakama with one team break sashes. ( c. 1920 ) Women may have been playing football for angstrom retentive as the game has existed. evidence shows that a similar game ( cuju ) was played by women during the Han Dynasty ( 25–220 CE ). Two female figures are depicted in Han Dynasty frescoes, playing Tsu Chu. [ 9 ] There are, however, a count of opinions about the accuracy of dates, the earliest estimates at 5000 BCE. Reports of an annual match being played in Midlothian, Scotland are reported angstrom early on as the 1790s. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] In 1863, football government bodies introduced exchangeable rules to prohibit violence on the pitch, making it more socially acceptable for women to play. [ 13 ] The first peer of an international character took place in 1881 at Hibernian Park in Edinburgh, [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ] and an official equal according to the Scottish Football Association ‘s records was in 1892. [ 11 ] In England, the first commemorate plot of football between women took place in 1895. [ 13 ] [ 17 ] A document european team was founded by activist Nettie Honeyball in England in 1894. It was named the british Ladies ‘ Football Club. Honeyball and those like her paved the way for women ‘s football. [ 16 ] however the women ‘s game was frowned upon by the british football associations, and continued without their support. It has been suggested that this was motivated by a perceive menace to the ‘masculinity ‘ of the game. [ 18 ] At the clock of the First World War, employment in heavy industry spurred the increase of the plot, like it had done for men fifty years sooner. A team from England played a team from Ireland on Boxing Day 1917 in movement of a crowd of 20,000 spectators. [ 19 ] The irish side of this was dramatised in the play Rough Girls in 2021. [ 20 ] A team of the era was Dick, Kerr ‘s Ladies of Preston, England. The team played in the beginning women ‘s international matches in 1920, against a team from Paris, France, in April, and besides made up most of the England team against a scots Ladies XI in 1920, winning 22–0. [ 11 ]
FA prohibition ( 1921–1971 ) [edit ]
A Welsh women ‘s football team model for a photograph in 1959 Despite being more popular than some men ‘s football events ( one equal saw a 53,000 hard crowd ), [ 21 ] women ‘s football in England was halted in 1921 when The Football Association outlawed the play of the crippled on Association members ‘ pitches, on the grounds stating that “ the plot of football is quite undesirable for females and ought not to be encouraged. ” [ 22 ] [ 23 ] Some [ who? ] speculated that this may have besides been due to envy of the big herd that women ‘s matches attracted. [ 24 ] Despite the banish, some women ‘s teams continued to play. The english Ladies Football Association was formed and play moved to rugby grounds. [ 25 ] The ban was maintained by the FA for fifty years until 1971. The same year, UEFA recommended that the national associations in each country should manage the women ‘s game. [ 26 ] In 2002, Lily Parr of Dick Kerr ‘s Ladies was the first woman to be inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. She was later honoured with a statue in front of the museum. [ 27 ] It was not until 2008 ( 87 years later ), that the FA issued an apology for banning women from the game of football. [ 28 ] [ 29 ]
Tournaments [edit ]
- The Munitionettes’ Cup
In August 1917, a tournament was launched for female fortification workers ‘ teams in northeastern England. formally titled the “ Tyne Wear & Tees Alfred Wood Munition Girls Cup ”, it was besides known as “ The Munitionettes ‘ Cup ”. [ 30 ] The first winners of the trophy were Blyth Spartans who defeated Bolckow Vaughan 5–0 in a play back final bind at Middlesbrough on 18 May 1918 in front of a herd of 22,000. [ 31 ] The tournament ran for a second year in season 1918–19, the winners being the ladies of Palmer ‘s shipyard in Jarrow, who defeated Christopher Brown ‘s of Hartlepool 1–0 at St James ‘ Park in Newcastle on 22 March 1919. [ 32 ]
- The English Ladies’ Football Association Challenge Cup
Following the FA banish on women ‘s teams on 5 December 1921, the English Ladies ‘ Football Association was formed. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] A silver cup was donated by the first president of the association, Len Bridgett. A full of 24 teams entered the first contest in the jump of 1922. The winners were Stoke Ladies who beat Doncaster and Bentley Ladies 3–1 on 24 June 1922. [ 35 ]
- The Championship of Great Britain and the World
In 1937 and 1938, the Dick, Kerr ‘s Ladies F.C. ( who had lost to Scotland ‘s Rutherglen Ladies in 1923 but continued to be proclaimed as “ world champions ” ) [ 36 ] [ 37 ] played the Edinburgh City Girls in the ‘Championship of Great Britain and the World ‘. Dick, Kerr won both competitions with 5–1 scorelines. The 1939 contest was a more organize matter and the Edinburgh City Girls beat Dick, Kerr 5–2 in Edinburgh, following this up with a 7–1 demolition of Glasgow Ladies in Falkirk to take the championship. [ 38 ]
The ‘revival ‘ of the women ‘s game [edit ]
The English Women’s FA was formed in 1969 ( as a result of the increased interest generated by the 1966 World Cup ), [ 39 ] and the FA ‘s banish on matches being played on members ‘ grounds was finally lifted in 1971. [ 13 ] In the same year, UEFA recommended that the women ‘s bet on should be taken under the restraint of the national associations in each area. [ 39 ]
Ladies World Championships, 1970 and 1971 [edit ]
In 1970 an italian ladies football federation, known as Federazione Femminile Italiana Giuoco Calcio or FFIGC, ran a “ World Championships ” tournament in Rome supported by the Martini and Rossi potent wine manufacturers, entirely without the involvement of FIFA or any of some National associations. [ 40 ] This event was at least partially played by clubs. [ 41 ] A World Championships with national teams was hosted by Mexico the follow year. The concluding ( won by Denmark ) was played at Estadio Azteca, the largest stadium in the entire Americas north of the Panama Canal at the prison term, in front of no less than 112.500 attenders. [ 42 ] On 17 April 1971, in the french town of Hazebrouck, the first gear official women ‘s external football pit was played between France and the Netherlands. [ 43 ]
professionalism [edit ]
During the 1970s, Italy became the first area to introduce professional women ‘s football players, on a part-time basis. Italy was besides the first nation to import foreign footballers from other Europeans countries, which raised the profile of the league. Players during that earned run average included Susanne Augustesen ( Denmark ), Rose Reilly and Edna Neillis ( Scotland ), Anne O’Brien ( Ireland ) and Concepcion Sánchez Freire ( Spain ). [ 44 ]
Asia and Oceania [edit ]
In 1989, Japan became the first nation to have a semi-professional women ‘s football league, the L. League – still in being today as Division 1 of the Nadeshiko League. [ 45 ] [ 46 ] In Australia, the W-League was formed in 2008. [ 47 ] In 2015, the chinese Women ‘s Super League ( CWSL ) was launched with an affiliate second gear division, CWFL. [ 48 ] previously, The chinese Women ‘s Premier Football League was initiated in 1997 and evolved to the Women ‘s Super League in 2004. From 2011 to 2014, the league was named the Women ‘s National Football League. The indian Women ‘s League was launched in 2016. The state has held the top-tier tournament, indian Women ‘s Football Championship, since 1991. [ 49 ]
North America [edit ]
In 1985, the United States national soccer team was formed. [ 50 ] Following the 1999 FIFA Women ‘s World Cup, the first professional women ‘s soccer league in the United States, the WUSA, was launched and lasted three years. The league was spearheaded by members of the World Cup-winning American team and featured players like Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain [ 51 ] vitamin a well as top-tier external players like Germany ‘s Birgit Prinz and China ‘s Sun Wen. [ 52 ] A moment attack towards a sustainable master league, the Women ‘s professional Soccer ( WPS ), was launched in 2009 and folded in late 2011. [ 53 ] The take after class, the National Women ‘s Soccer League ( NWSL ) was launched with initial accompaniment from the United States, Canadian, and Mexico federations. [ 54 ] In 2017, Liga MX Femenil was launched in Mexico and broke respective attendance records. The league is composed of women ‘s teams for the men ‘s counterpart teams in Liga MX. [ 55 ]
twenty-first hundred [edit ]
Kuopion Mimmifutis ( KMF ), a women ‘s football club of Kuopio, Finland in 2006 A report says that at the beginning of the twenty-first century, women ‘s football like men ‘s football is growing in both popularity and engagement [ 56 ] arsenic well as more professional leagues worldwide. [ 57 ] From the inaugural FIFA Women ‘s World Cup tournament held in 1991 [ 58 ] to the 1,194,221 tickets sold for the 1999 Women ‘s World Cup [ 59 ] visibility and patronize of women ‘s master football has increased around the earth. [ 60 ]
Read more: Willem Dafoe
however, as in some early sports, women ‘s pay and opportunities are lower in comparison with professional male football players. [ 61 ] [ 62 ] “ Major league and international women ‘s football have far less television and media coverage than the men ‘s equivalent. ” [ 63 ] Games can be regarded as being an ordeal to be “ weather rather than enjoyed … more out of duty than expectation ”. [ 64 ] The popularity and participation in women ‘s football continues to grow. [ 65 ] While a number of features continue to improve, this is not the case for female coaches. They continue to be underrepresented in a count of european women ‘s leagues. [ 66 ]
International tournaments [edit ]
Women ‘s World Cup [edit ]
prior to the 1991 establishment of the FIFA Women ‘s World Cup, some unofficial universe tournaments took place in the 1970s and 1980s, [ 67 ] including the FIFA ‘s Women ‘s Invitation Tournament 1988 which was hosted in China. [ 68 ] The first Women ‘s World Cup was held in the People ‘s Republic of China, in November 1991, and was won by the United States ( USWNT ). The third base Cup, held in the United States in June and July 1999, drew worldwide television receiver interest and a concluding in movement of a record-setting 90,000+ Pasadena herd, where the United States won 5–4 on penalty kicks against China. [ 69 ] [ 70 ] The US are the reigning champions as of 2021, having won in Canada in 2015 and in France in 2019 .
Olympics [edit ]
Since 1996, a Women ‘s Football Tournament has been staged at the Olympic Games. Unlike in the men ‘s Olympic Football tournament ( based on teams of largely under-23 players ), the Olympic women ‘s teams do not have restrictions due to professionalism or age. England and other british Home Nations are not eligible to compete as separate entities because the International Olympic Committee does not recognise their FIFA status as offprint teams in competitions. The participation of UK men ‘s and women ‘s sides at the 2012 Olympic tournament was a bone of controversy between the four national associations in the UK from 2005, when the Games were awarded to London, to 2009. England was “ powerfully ” in favor of mix UK teams, while Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were opposed, fearing adverse consequences for the independent status of the Home Nations within FIFA. At one degree it was reported that England alone would field teams under the UK banner ( officially “ Great Britain ” ) for the 2012 Games. [ 71 ] however, both the men ‘s and women ‘s Great Britain teams finally fielded some players from the early home nations. ( See Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women ‘s tournament )
UEFA Women ‘s championship [edit ]
The UEFA Women ‘s Championship ( or Women ‘s Euro ) was initially launched in 1982 under the name european Competition For Representative Women ‘s Teams and recognized by UEFA as an official tournament. previously, european women ‘s tournaments featuring national teams were held in Italy in 1969 [ 72 ] and 1979, [ 73 ] and were not recognized as “ official ” due to the FA Ban. The 1984 Finals was won by Sweden. Norway won the 1987 Finals. Since then, as of 2017, the UEFA Women ‘s Championship titles has been dominated by Germany which has won at least eight of the events. The only early teams to win, as of 2017, are Norway which won in 1993, and the Netherlands which won at home in 2017 .
Copa Libertadores Femenina [edit ]
Copa Libertadores Femenina ( Women ‘s Liberators Cup ) formally known as CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina is the external women ‘s football club contest for teams that play in CONMEBOL nations. The competition started in the 2009 season in response to the increased matter to in women ‘s football. It is the only CONMEBOL baseball club competition for women. [ 74 ]
domestic competitions [edit ]
England [edit ]
After the revoke of The FA prohibition, the now defunct Women ‘s Football Association held its first national smasher cup in 1970–71. It was called the Mitre Trophy which became the FA Women ‘s Cup in 1993. Southampton WFC was the inauguration winner. From 1983 to 1994 Doncaster Belles reached ten out of 11 finals, winning six of them. As of 2014, Chelsea are the holders and Arsenal are the clubhouse with a record 14 wins. [ 75 ] Despite tournament sponsorship by some companies, entering the cup actually costs clubs more than they get in pry money. In 2015 it was reported that even if Notts County had won the tournament outright the £8,600 winnings would leave them out of pocket. [ 76 ] The winners of the men ‘s FA Cup in the like year received £1.8 million, with teams not reaching the first base round proper getting more than the women ‘s winners. [ 77 ]
young tournaments [edit ]
In 2002, FIFA inaugurated a women ‘s young person championship, formally called the FIFA U-19 Women ‘s World Championship. The first consequence 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 old age restrict was raised to 20, starting with the 2006 event held in Russia. Demonstrating the increasing ball-shaped strive of the women ‘s crippled, the winners of this event were North Korea. The tournament was renamed the FIFA U-20 Women ‘s World Cup, effective with the 2008 edition won by the US in Chile. Japan won the tournament in France in 2018. [ 78 ] In 2008, FIFA instituted an under-17 world backing. The inauguration event, held in New Zealand, was won by North Korea. Spain won this tournament in Uruguay in 2018. [ 79 ]
intercollegiate [edit ]
United States [edit ]
In the United States, the intercollegiate sport began from physical education programs that helped establish organized teams. After sixty years of trying to gain social acceptance women ‘s football was introduced to the college degree. In the 1970s, women ‘s club teams started to appear on college campus, and it was n’t until the 1980s that they started to gain recognition and gained a varsity condition. Brown University was the first college to grant full varsity level condition to their women ‘s soccer team. The Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women ( AIAW ) sponsored the first regional women ‘s soccer tournament at college in the US, which was held at Brown University. The first home degree tournament was held at Colorado College, which gained official AIAW sponsorship in 1981. The 1990s saw greater participation chiefly due to the Title IX of 23 June 1972, which increased school ‘s budgets and their addition of women ‘s scholarships .
“ presently there are over 700 intercollegiate women ‘s soccer teams playing for many types and sizes of colleges and universities. This includes colleges and universities that are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ), National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ( NAIA ), and the National Junior College Athletic Association ( NJCAA ). ”
Controversies [edit ]
A count of footballers around the globe wear a kit made up of a jersey, shorts, cleats ( boots ) and knee-length socks worn over shin guards. In 2004, FIFA President Sepp Blatter suggested that women footballers should “ wear tight shorts and low cut shirts … to create a more female aesthetic ” and attract more male fans. His remark was criticized as male chauvinist by people involved with women ‘s football and media outlets global. [ 80 ] [ 81 ] [ 82 ]
FC de Rakt DA1 ( 2008/2009 ) In September 2008, FC de Rakt women ‘s team ( FC de Rakt DA1 ) in the Netherlands made international headlines by swapping its old kit for a new one sport “ short ” skirts and “ tight-fitting ” shirts. [ 83 ] This invention, which had been requested by the team itself, was initially vetoed by the Royal Dutch Football Association on the grounds that according to the rules of the game shorts must be worn by all players, both male and female ; but this decision was reversed when it was revealed that the FC de Rakt team were wearing “ hot ” pants under their skirts, and were consequently technically in conformity. Denying that the kit change was merely a promotion stunt, clubhouse chair Jan van lair Elzen told Reuters :
The girls asked us if they could make a team and asked specifically to play in skirts. We said we’d try but we didn’t expect to get permission for that. We’ve seen reactions from Belgium and Germany already saying this could be something for them. Many girls would like to play in skirts but didn’t think it was possible.
21-year-old team master Rinske Temming said :
We think they are far more elegant than the traditional shorts and furthermore they are more comfortable because the shorts are made for men. It’s more about being elegant, not sexy. Female football is not so popular at the moment. In the Netherlands there’s an image that it’s more for men, but we hope that can change.
besides in June 2011, russian UEFA Women ‘s Champions League contenders WFC Rossiyanka announced a design to play in bikini in a bid to boost attendances. [ 84 ]
Wearing of hijab [edit ]
In June 2011, Iran forfeited an Olympic qualification match in Jordan, after trying to take to the field in hijab and full body suits. FIFA awarded a default 3–0 winnings to Jordan, explaining that the iranian kits were “ an violation of the Laws of the Game ”. [ 85 ] The decision provoked criticism from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [ 86 ] while irani officials alleged that the actions of the Bahraini peer delegate had been politically motivated. [ 87 ] In July 2012, FIFA approved the erosion of hijab in future matches. [ 88 ]