The Forgotten History of Women’s Soccer

I read a series of blogs (referenced by Peter Wilt) this morning about the perceived differences between the men’s and women’s game. You can read them here. I thought it was interesting to note that a number of people made historical references to the development of women’s soccer throughout the ages.

At the NSCAA Convention this year, Emma Hayes and I gave a classroom presentation titled, “Global Growth of the Women’s Game and Reflections on the Women’s World Cup.” Our first slide was about Nettie Honeyball’s team in 1894, Dick Kerr’s ladies of 1917, the relative dispansion of organized women’s football in England in 1921, and the birth of a new generation in 1990 with the Australian National Team’s nude calendar. We then went on to compare the developments in the game as we saw in world cups from 1991-2007, and finally we discussed implications/possibilities for the future growth of our beautiful game.

If you’d like a copy of the power point, just send me an email.

Here are some links to important historical references, and a couple interesting quotes I uncovered while researching our topic:

1894 Nettie Honeyball

Nettie Honeyball said, “I founded the association late last year, with the fixed resolve of proving to the world that women are not the ‘ornamental and useless’ creatures men have pictured.”

The British Medical Journal responded, “We can in no way sanction the reckless exposure to violence, of organs which the common experience of women had led them in every way to protect.”

1917 Dick, Kerr’s Ladies

Eighty-five years ago, at a time when women had barely secured the right vote, this team of Lancashire munitions factory workers were attracting crowds of 53,000, introducing the concept of international competition to the women’s game and even embarking on a tour of the USA.

In 1921, Football Association decided to intervene. Those within football who felt threatened by the emergence of the women’s game had for some time been perpetuating a myth expounded in newspapers by “medical experts” that football was a dangerous game for women to play. In an FA decree of December 5, 1921, they concluded that all women’s games should be banned from the grounds of its member clubs.

1971 Mexico

“The [unofficial World Cup] tournament, backed by South American business interests, was run on crassly sexist, show business and commercial lines. The women involved played into pink goal frames, beauty parlors were installed in dressing rooms, and some teams were encouraged to wear hot pants and blouses in place of the normal football stripes.” Source: Can Play, Will Play, Women and Football in Britain by J. Williams and J. Woodhouse.

1990 The Matildas

The Australian Women’s National Team Calendar, full of 12 black-and-white images, are said to be “tasteful” and according to AWSA president Shirley Brown it was the only way to increase the profile of the team. “In Australia, women’s sport is still considered second rate,” she said.

“No matter how good these girls are as soccer players, that is not enough to get the recognition that they deserve.” Source: BBC News Asia-Pacific

Tagged as: dick kerr, Emma Hayes, matildas, nettie honeyball