Women's association football

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UEFA Women's Cup Final 2005 at Potsdam

Women's association football is the most prominent team sport for women in few countries, and one of the few women's team sports with professional leagues.

[edit] The History of Women's Football

[edit] The 21st century

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup

At the beginning of the 21st century women's football, like men's football, has become professionalised and is growing in both popularity and participation. In 2008, Sam Grimstead from Dorset, made history by becoming the first male to play women's football. From the first known professional team in 1894^{[citation needed]}, to the hundreds of thousands of tickets sold for the 1999 Women's World Cup,^[1] support of women's professional football (soccer) has increased around the globe. It is now the third most popular sport in the world.^{[citation needed]}

However, as in other sports, women have struggled for pay and opportunities equal to male football players'. Major league and international women's football enjoys far less television and media coverage than the men's equivalent. For instance the 2006 Algarve Cup, a significant international tournament, was televised very little in Europe (Eurosport did broadcast some games) and none at all in the USA (where the women's game arguably has the highest profile) and other regions. Another example is that FIFA's Women's web site links to information about the men's team. In spite of this, the popularity and participation in women's football is expected to continue growing.^[2]

One of the first modern pro women's teams was the US Women's Team, which played their first match in 1985. Japan has a sponsored league, called the L. League, which hosts friendlies, as well as football camps, striving to increase skills and level of play.

The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) in the United States, in the early 2000s, was the first true all-professional league for women anywhere in the world; however, its ephemeral success was a setback for professionalism, and to date the top national leagues in the advanced countries, such as the Premier League National, the L. League, the W-League, Women's Bundesliga (Germany and Austria), Toppserien (Norway), Superliga Femenina (Spain), Women's National Soccer League (Australia), and others are either amateur or semi-professional. The organisers of WUSA, however, have announced plans to relaunch the league in 2009 as Women's Professional Soccer.

For the Women's Olympic Football Tournament, given the general abandonment of amateur regulations in the Olympic Games in the 1990s, the national women's teams do not have restrictions due to professionalism or age, thus the tournament becomes a back-to-back re-World Cup with the best teams of the previous year's World Cup plus the hosts. However, England and other British Home Nations are not eligible to compete as separate entities because the International Olympic Committee does not recognise their FIFA status as separate nations, and it remains to be seen how, or even whether, the United Kingdom will be incorporated into the 2012 Olympic tournament, given that FIFA does not recognise the UK as a single sporting entity.

[edit] Competitions

The growth in women's football has seen major competitions being launched at both national and international level. For more information see Women's football around the world and International competitions in women's football respectively.

[edit] The Munitionettes' Cup

In August 1917 a tournament was launched for female munition workers' teams in North-East England. Its official title was the "Tyne Wear & Tees Alfred Wood Munition Girls Cup," but it was popularly known as "The Munitionettes' Cup." The first winners of the trophy were Blyth Spartans, who defeated Bolckow, Vaughan 5-0 in a replayed final tie at Middlesbrough on 18th May 1918. The tournament ran for a second year in season 1918-19, the winners being the ladies of Palmer's shipyard in Jarrow, who defeated Christopher Brown's of Hartlepool 1-0 at St James's Park in Newcastle on 22nd March 1919.

[edit] The English Ladies' Football Association Challenge Cup

Following the Football Association ban on women's teams in December 1921, the English Ladies' Football Association was formed. A silver cup was donated by the first president of the association, Len Bridgett, and this was competed for in the spring of 1922. 24 teams entered the competition, the winners being Stoke Ladies, who defeated Doncaster and Bentley Ladies 3-1 on 24th June 1922.

[edit] UEFA Women's Championship (Women's Euro)

In 1937, Dick, Kerr's Ladies played Edinburgh Ladies in "The Championship of Great Britain and the World", but there was no formal international tournament until 1982 when the first UEFA European Competition For Representative Women's Teams was launched. The 1984 Finals was won by Sweden. This competition name was succeeded by the UEFA Women's Championship and today, is commonly referred to as the Women's Euro. Norway won, in the 1987 Finals. Since then, the UEFA Women's Championship has been dominated by Germany, which has won six of the seven subsequent competitions, including the 2005 Women's Euro.

[edit] Women's World Cup

The first Women's World Cup was held in China in 1991, and was won by the USA. The third Cup, held in the United States in 1999, drew worldwide television interest and a final in front of a record-setting 90,000+ Los Angeles crowd, where the home team won 5-4 on penalty kicks.

Prior to the FIFA's establishment of the Women's World Cup, several unofficial tournaments took place,^[3] including the FIFA's Women's Invitation Tournament 1988, which was also hosted in China.

[edit] Youth Tournaments

Besides the United States and Germany (which won the 2003 and 2007 World Cups), the strongest women's teams have traditionally been Norway, China, and Sweden, with nations like Brazil emerging as powers.

In 2002, FIFA inaugurated a women's youth championship, officially called the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship. The first event was hosted by Canada. The final was an all-CONCACAF affair, with the USA defeating the host Canadians 1-0 with an extra-time golden goal. The second event was held in Thailand in 2004 and won by Germany. The age limit was raised to 20, starting with the 2006 event held in Russia. Demonstrating the increasing global reach of the women's game, the winners of this event were North Korea. The tournament was renamed the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, effective with the 2008 edition currently ongoing in Chile.

In 2008, FIFA instituted an under-17 world championship. The inaugural event, held in New Zealand, was won by North Korea.

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Women's Football

[edit] References

In a League of Their Own! The Dick, Kerr Ladies 1917-1965 ISBN 1-85727-029-0

[edit] External links

[0] 1999 Women's World Cup Ticket Sales

[1] History in Asia

[2] Women's World Cup

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Diego Maradona