Football is one of the most widely known and appreciated sports across the world but for so long it has been seen as a man’s game, why?

Over the years women have had to fight to be seen as capable in this sporting field and still to this day they are having to battle to be accepted. 

Women have been forced into the shadows for too long, but not anymore, the growth in women’s football is rapidly rising and it will not stop because this is the era of the lionesses!

The inequality in sport between men and women is a constant issue, however, in the world of football it is a never-ending battle.

The game of football has been played for over 300 years and many people assume women have only started playing in the last generation or so, however, this is far from correct. According to The Women’s Organisation the first recorded women’s game was played on the 7th of May in 1881!

During the early 1890s women’s club football grew spectacularly in popularity.

As stated by ‘The Historic England Blog’,  in 1895, the first public women’s football match was held at Alexandra Palace in London. Over 11,000 fans travelled to watch.

During the First World War many women took on jobs that the men had previously held and were even encouraged to play football to benefit their health.

By 1921 there were around 150 women’s football clubs and matches were popular sporting events with huge crowds attending regularly.  A match in 1920 on Boxing Day even entertained crowds of 45,000 (The Historic England Blog, 08.2023).

The future of women’s football looked incredibly promising!

Unfortunately, nearing the end of the war many of the factories closed and the women who had previously been working there, lost their jobs and were forced back into a household lifestyle, undermining the previous progression in society.

To add to this, because of the growing popularity of women’s football, the huge crowds were seen as a significant threat to the men’s game.

 Sadly, there were many unfair thoughts and opinions on the women’s game, and many concluded it was unsuitable for a woman’s health.

On the 5th of December 1921 the Football Association (FA) announced that they had banned women from playing football.

Despite this, many women were still determined to play.

 In the 1960s women started campaigning more proactively for their rights to play football.

On the 1st November 1969, ambassadors of 44 clubs banded together to attend the very first meeting of the Women’s Football Association (WFA) in London.

Finally in December 1969, after years of restricting women the FA lifted the ban!

It's incredibly sad that so many years were lost for the world of women’s football because of a group of people believing it was ‘unladylike’ to play the sport.

 During those years women were forced not to play and lost all the publicity and affection the sport had gained and then in the 1970s they had to start all over again, which was a huge setback.

However, throughout all the sexism and discrimination, women’s football has faced and continues to face, it still thrives and the position for women’s football has never looked better.

In 2022, The Lionesses showed the world who England were when they brought football home by winning the Euros at Wembley.

In 2023, The Lionesses showed their talent again when they came second in the World Cup.

Not only this but the popularity of women’s football has increased immensely with Arsenal Women last season selling out the Emirate’s stadium in their game against Manchester United.

It was recorded on the 6th of May 2024 that Arsenal Women now have a higher attendance than 10 Premier League men’s clubs, if that doesn’t speak in volumes that women’s football is loved, then what can?

Female representation in football is vital, because it sets an example to young girls, that they can achieve this, they can play for their local club, they can win trophies, they can play for their country, they can captain their country.

WOMEN CAN PLAY FOOTBALL!

This is the era of the lionesses.