FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

ARIANA RUBIO REFLECTS THE SUCCESS OF THE WOMEN'S WORLD CUP IN CONTINUING TO ADVANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME

ON BOXING Day in 1920, more than 53,000 people gathered to watch a women’s football match between Dick Kerr’s Ladies and St Helen’s Ladies in Liverpool.

By the end of 1921, there were about 150 women’s football teams in England. That year, however, the Football Association (FA) effectively prohibited professional women’s football when they banned women from using their grounds. Some speculate that the FA feared that the popularity of women’s football would impinge on the men’s game.

Almost exactly a century after the ban, the Lionesses won the country’s first major trophy in women’s football when they beat Germany in a dramatic final at Wembley in Euro 2022.

A world of changes, big and small, occurred during that century to make the victory possible and England followed it up by reaching the World Cup final for the first time this summer, losing narrowly to Spain.

It’s been a long road. Partly inspired by the Three Lions’ triumph at the 1966 World Cup, the Women’s FA (WFA) was established in 1969. The FA rescinded their ban by 1971, merged with the WFA in 1983, and initiated professional women’s leagues in the 1990s and 2000s. On the international stage, the first Women’s World Cup took place in 1991, and England qualified for the tournament in 1995. Domestically and internationally, women’s football was slowly recovering from the setbacks of the early 20th century.

Throughout the last decade, women’s football has grown exponentially. The 2015 World Cup moved from a 16 to 24-team format. From 2014 to 2019, the FA Women’s Super League (WSL) – the top flight of English women’s football – expanded from eight to 12 teams. And in the 2017-18 season, the WSL became a completely professional league.