Background
Can girls really play football? Of course they can! In fact it's the fastest
growing sport in the country. In countries like the USA over 8 million
girls play the game. Below are some details on the game in England
and what it means for you.
Brief History
Women's football has actually been played in England for over 100 years.
The first match recorded was in 1895 held between a northern and southern
team on March 23rd with the North winning the game 7-1. Its popularity
has continued to grow and the 1920s was a big era for women's football
where crowds of up to 50,000 watched teams such as Dick Kerrs ladies from
Preston played matches to raise money for charity. Unfortunately
The Football Association banned women from playing on league grounds in
1921 and this effectively destroyed the game in this country for over
40 years. When the England men's team won the World Cup in 1966
football mania swept the country and a resurgence in the women's game
began. From 1969 to 1993 the Women's Football Association set up
and ran a successful England team, a national league, an F.A. Cup competition
all on limited funds but it was very hard for them to develop the game
further at grass roots level and in 1993 The F.A. took control.
With The F.A. taking over the game women's football received a major
boost in terms of access to funding and resources. An example of
this is in 1993 there were only 80 girls teams, today there are over 3,500
in schools and clubs and an estimated 45,000 under-16 players. Now
there are 31 Girls Centres of Excellence mainly linked to men's clubs,
20 academies and a fully funded scholarship programme for elite England
players at Loughborough University. At senior level there is a women's
Premier League, F.A. Cup and League Cup for domestic competitions as well
as school competitions, festivals and girls' leagues. At England
international level we have Under-16, Under-18 and senior sides so you
can play for fun or right up to wearing the England three lions.
If you want to play football what can you do?
- Allow SPORTSEARCH to provide you with information about clubs in your
area.
- Join a local team. There should be one in your area. Phone
The F.A. Girls' Football hotline on 0845 310 8555 and they will send
you info on the game and contacts for teams in your area. The line is
operational from 9.00am-9.00pm every day.
- Join a school football team. There are hundreds of schools now playing
girls' football. If yours is not one of them ask your teacher
for advice!
- Set a team up! Get your mates involved and make a team. Football has
benefits above and beyond the health aspects. Research has shown
that playing a team sport helps develop leadership and teamworking skills,
increase confidence and self-esteem and is great fun! Your local
County F.A. will be able to advise you how.
- Log onto http://www.the-fa.org/ for details on
local clubs, counties and girls' football information
The Football Association
25 Soho Square
London
W1D 4FA
There is a women's football monthly magazine called 'She Kicks'. For
copies contact 0191 420 8383 or log onto http://www.shekicks.net/