Women's football in the UK (England & Wales): untapped potential?
Annabelle Gauberti
Founding & managing partner of the law firm Crefovi, producer & host of the ?Lawfully Creative” podcast
As the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has now faded into the sunset, it is time to look at how women’s football came to be, in the United Kingdom (?UK”) (England & Wales), and how it evolved, since its inception. What is it like, now? And where it is going? Does it have potential? If so, in which areas? How is UK women’s football structured, in particular to resolve disputes? Are you ready for the ride?
1. Women’s football in England: a troubled history
The story of women’s football in the UK (England & Wales) is one of frustrating steps ahead, and then backwards.
The first known example of a team game involving a ball, which was made out of a rock, occurred in old Mesoamerican cultures over 3,000 years ago. It was called ?Tchatali” by the Aztecs. On some ritual occasions, the ball would symbolize the sun and the captain of the losing team would be sacrificed to the gods (!). A unique feature of the Mesoamerican ball game was a bouncing ball made of rubber – no other early culture had access to rubber. It is unknown whether both male and female humans used to play Tchatali together, then.
Fast-forward to the middle of the 19th century, when football (or ?soccer” as the game is called in some parts of the world), in its current form, arose in England. An attempt to create proper rules for the game was made at a meeting in Cambridge in 1848, but no final decision regarding all questions about rules was achieved then.
Another important event in the history of football occurred on 26 October 1863, when the Football Association (the ?FA”) was formed, in the Freemasons’ Tavern on Great Queen Street, in London, England. It is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory. Indeed, the FA is the governing body of association football (more commonly known as football or soccer) in England and the Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
The FA is now a member of both the Union of European Football Associations (?UEFA”) – which is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football – and the ?Fédération Internationale de Football Association” (French for ?International Association Football Federation”) (?FIFA”), which is the international governing body of association football.
As early as 1895, a representative football match between northern and southern women’s teams was recorded in London, in the UK.
By 1921, women’s football had become increasingly popular through the charitable games played by women’s teams during, and after, the First World War. In a move that was widely seen as caused by jealousy of the crowds’ interest in women’s games – which frequently exceeded that of the top men’s teams – in 1921, the FA banned all women’s teams from playing on grounds affiliated to the FA. The reason given for such a ban was that the FA thought football was ?unsuitable for females” (sic) and damaged women’s bodies. Women continued to play football between the two world wars, but there was no league structure and there were few dedicated facilities for women.
The decision to exclude women from football was only reversed in 1969 when, after the increased interest in football caused by England’s 1966 World Cup triumph, the Women’s Football Association (?WFA”) was founded to re-establish the female game. The WFA was an independent body and not part of the FA. Indeed, it took an order from UEFA to force the FA to remove its restrictions on the playing rights of women’s teams. So, in 1972, the FA – with the strong ?encouragement” of UEFA – lifted its ban on women playing on football league grounds in England. It was not until 1983 that the WFA was able to affiliate with the FA as a ?county association”.
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Crefovi's live webinar: Women’s football in the UK (England & Wales) -?untapped potential?
26 October?2023 | 15:30pm London time
Crefovi's live webinar will begin on Thursday 26 October at 15:30pm London time (UK), and will provide an in-depth analysis on Women's football in the UK (England & Wales).
You haven’t yet secured your free place for our upcoming webinar on sports law?
Here is your chance to join Annabelle Gauberti on Thursday 26 October 2023, 15:30pm London time (UK) as she explores how Women's football in the UK (England & Wales) has evolved, over the years, and where it is going.?
In this webinar, our expert speaker will discuss:?
- ?a troubled history;
- corporate governance, and
- resolving football disputes.
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