The Most Important Moments in Women's Football History

For many, the history of women's football begins in 1999, when the world watched as the USWNT snatched the World Cup victory from China in a dramatic penalty kick shootout. Since then, women footballers have slowly but steadily worked to establish the game on the world’s largest arena, finally reaching where we are today.

But to really understand women’s football, you have to go back many more. Indeed, the history of women's football dates back to about 100 years before 1999.

Netty Honeyball invented the first known women's soccer club

In 1894, women's football was not even a thing. Netty Honeyball tried to change that. Although his name is a nickname and his true identity is unknown, there is no one better person to introduce England to the idea of   women's football. Honeyball , along with about 30 young women, founded the first known women's professional football club: the British Ladies Football Club.

In 1895, he told The Daily Sketch, he founded a group to prove that women were simply "fancy and useless." For their short period of attention, the British Ladies Football Club attracted thousands of fans to their games. However, their bravery in trying to play the "man's game" received considerable criticism. According to a reporter at the time, "I do not think women's football will attract crowds, as innovation has worn off."

However, despite widespread criticism of Honeyball and his team, not everyone believes in women who do not have the ability to play the beautiful game. One reporter wrote: “True, young people will run harder and kick harder, but beyond that I can not believe they have a great knowledge of the game or the ability to execute it. With football as a sport, I don’t think the female soccer player will be swayed by the many leading articles written by sympathizers on both the aspirations of young and new women. If a female soccer player dies, she will die severely.

For every little compliment, British women faced numerous criticisms and sometimes outright violence. At one point, playing became very unsafe, and Netty Honeyball ’s vision for women’s football came to an end.

 FA bans women's football

Negative press attention and the interest of football fans kept women out of the game, eventually stamping out the progress made by Netty Honeyball , which was far from the end of women's football.

During World War I, women's football was very popular in England. While the men were fighting in the lead, the women took over their factory jobs and formed football teams. The people who participated in these games today as a competition for those who enjoy women's football; In 1920, about 53,000 fans attended the game of women's football.

A year later, after that shocking ceremony, the FA banned women's football, considering it inappropriate and unsafe.

Women have not returned to the playground with any significant ability for nearly 50 years. We can not change the past, but it makes us wonder: where would women's football be today if the FA did not stop the game when it started?

The unofficial 1971 Women's World Cup attracted worldwide attention

In 1970, the unofficial Women's World Cup was held in Italy. Although this competition was the first step towards the modern women's sport, a year later, in 1971 came the big break.

Riding in the coat tails of the 1970 Men's World Cup held in Mexico the previous year, the women's edition attracted more than 100,000 people. It was an important moment for women's football, which was hugely successful. However, women's sports are nowhere near what they are today.

However, in the final match between Denmark and Mexico, 110,000 tickets were sold, indicating the potential for women's football. But despite the frantic hype surrounding this novel competition, it took decades for women’s football to make any lasting impact.

USWNT won the 1999 Women's World Cup

Mentioning 1999 immediately instills a clear image in the minds of women's football fans: Brandi Sostine celebrates his team's tremendous achievement by holding the jersey in his hand, on his knees, minutes after the match's penalty kick.

USWNT's second World Cup victory was, without a doubt, the biggest moment in game history. That was the day women's football was on the map. This group inspired a generation of young women to be like them.

The impact of the 1999 USWNT cannot be overstated. Players became household names and the best legends of the game. They established the USA as one of the best in the world, paving the way for the establishment of a professional league and the seriousness of women as athletes.

The spark ignited by the 1999 World Cup has been burning for years, and before the advent of the NWSL the two professional leagues in the United States failed and saw a resemblance of stability. But the image of Mia Hamm, Brandi Sostaine, Brianna Scurry and the overall team world champions will always be etched in the minds of women football fans everywhere.

The 2019 Women's World Cup marks the beginning of a new era in women's football

In many ways, the 2019 Women’s World Cup came as no surprise. The USWNT's competition has always been defeated. But inevitably, the 2019 Women’s World Cup marked a turning point for women’s football.

The struggle for equality in women's football is not new in 2019, but for the first time, people listened. USWNT was criticized throughout the match for their on-field antics and shameless celebrations after their victory, but their message was clear: We are women. We deserve to be celebrated. We are not going anywhere.

Since 2019, women's football has grown significantly around the world. NWSL and FA WSL attendance peaks. The England and Brazil teams announced that they would pay their men's and women's teams equally. More fans are watching women's football than ever before. Great improvements are being made, but there is still a long way to go.

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