A great deal has been written about the Lionesses' historic Euro 2022 win over the summer, including whether or not they should, indeed, be called the Lionesses- but am not going to add my two pennyworths to the issue of nomenclature.
The victory is even more pleasing given the chequered history of women’s football in England. Considering that the FA banned women from playing on any of its grounds for fifty years 1921 until 1971, the Euro victory showed that women’s football in England has come on in leaps and bounds, showcasing a fabulous back heel goal that Lionel Messi could envy.
The story of women’s football began to fascinate me when I heard about its earliest incarnations, with the wonderfully named Dick, Kerr Ladies’ being the most prominent team of the early 1920s. They took part in a match against a female team from Paris at Deepdale, which became the Preston North End ground, in what was believed to be the first international match against women’s teams. After trouncing the French by 2-0, the women became internationally renowned and toured France, garnering a great deal of press attention across Europe.
This tour also made stars of their best players, Lily Parr and Alice Wood, and the team amassed a massive fan base in England, culminating in a match against St Helen’s at Goodison Park, home to Everton FC, where over 53,000 saw them play. However, depressingly, this popularity was not without misogynistic naysaying at the time, especially amongst the stalwarts of the mighty Football Association. Therefore, on 5 December 1921, the FA stripped women’s clubs of their official rights to be members of their association, stating that:
“Complaints having been made as to football being played by women, Council felt impelled to express the strong opinion that the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged.”
Consequently, as the teams had nowhere official to play for quite some time, women’s football went under the radar, although it did not die completely. Under much pressure from UEFA, the FA rescinded the ban in 1971 but it was not until 1993 that the FA started offering financial support. Eventually, in 2017-8 the Women’s Super League, which was formed in 2012, became the first fully professional football league for women in Europe.
Fast forward to July 2022 and the indomitable young women who finally brought football home to Englandafter 56 years of hurt- are now set to be international superstars and to create a legacy that will, no doubt, change the face of women’s football in this country from now on. Moreover, our proud Lionesses, some of whom were on £20,000 a year before Euro 2022, will now see some proper financial remuneration at last. Their former pay is in ridiculously stark contrast to the ultra-pampered princes of the Premier League, some of whom won’t get up in the morning for less than £250,000 a week. Moreover, there has been a general recognition of their silky skills, dribbling talents and their emotionally- intelligent approach to playing together on the pitch without diving, flouncing or spitting at the officials. Even football diehards have admitted that the atmosphere at Wembley was convivial, friendly and family-friendly, in contrast to the appalling behaviour exhibited by England fans at the men’s Euro finals last year.
All of this bodes very well for football per se; sisters are doing it for themselves and showing how the game can be played without violence or outrageously anti-social behaviours. Roll on the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia next year!