Women’s football is the fastest growing sport in the World, there are more females playing football than any other female team sport and it is estimated there are over one million females playing football in England and over 26 million around the world.
The first record of a women’s football match was in 1895, with the first International match taking place in 1920. A record crowd of 53,000 watched a female football match in 1920, but the Football Association banned women from playing on Football on League grounds in 1921. Believing that the game was unsuitable for females and should not to be encouraged.
Amazingly the ban remained until 1971, by which time the Women’s Football Association had been formed. The first WFA Cup Final took place in 1971, which was followed by the first recognised International match between England and Scotland in 1972.
It wasn’t until the 1990’s that the game became more popular and the first English league was established in 1991. The league was taken under the control of the Football Association in 1994 and became know as the FAWPL (Football Association Women’s Premier League).
The dominant force within the English game are Arsenal Ladies who have won an incredible 33 trophies since their formation in 1987. The honours include 12 Premier League titles, 10 National Cups and 10 FA Cups. Arsenal have won the league title for the last 7 consecutive years.
The Football association made a commitment in 1997 to develop the game for women from the grass roots through to the top level, which led to the development of 20 Centres of excellence for girls within the sport. There are now 50 centres of excellence providing quality coaching for girls between the ages of 8 and 16.
Greater emphasis has now also been placed on the English national team, who after winning unofficial World Cups in 1985 and 1988 have struggled to make an impact on the World football, having only qualified for two official World Cup finals.
Confidence is high that the now semi-professional Women’s Super League, planned to start in 2011, will provide an improved structure and better players for the national team in the future. It is hoped that greater television coverage will also provide an additional boost to this already popular sport.
By Steve Goodwin
http://EzineArticles.com/?Development-Of-Womens-Football-In-England&id=5529267
Steve Goodwin is an expert author, football fan and retailer of football merchandise from the English Premier League, available from the football shop and all items are available to ship worldwide.
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