Women's football (soccer) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Women's association football has been played for many decades, but was associated with charity games and physical exercise in the past before the breakthrough of organized women's association football came in the 1970s. Before the 1970s, football was basically seen as a men's game. Football is the most prominent team sport

Team sport

A team sport includes any sport which involves players working together towards a shared objective. A team sport is an activity in which a group of individuals, on the same team, work together to accomplish an ultimate goal which is usually to win. This can be done in a number of ways such as...

for women in a few countries, and one of the few women's team sports with professional leagues

Women's professional sports

Professional athletes are distinguished from amateur athletes by virtue of being paid. Throughout the world, most top female athletes are not paid, and work full-time or part-time jobs in addition to their training, practice and competition schedules. Women's professional sports organizations defy...

.

The growth in women's football has seen major competitions being launched at both national

Women's football around the world

Women's association football is played in an increasing number of countries around the world.For international competitions see the article International competitions in women's football.-See also:*Women's football...

and international

International competitions in women's football

This article lists all international competitions in women's football. The competitions included are for national teams as well as club sides. Competitions past and present are included. Note that some competitions may not be directly run by the governing body for the region.For domestic...

level. (For more information, see Women's association football around the world and International competitions in women's association football respectively.) Women's football has faced many struggles throughout its fight for right. Although women's football had its first golden age in the UK in the early 1920s, when some matches achieved over 50,000 spectators, this was stopped on 5 December 1921 when England's Football Association voted to ban the game from grounds used by its member clubs. The ban was not cancelled until July 1971.

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 18 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 22 March 1919.

The English Ladies' Football Association Challenge Cup

Following the Football Association ban on women's teams on 5 December 1921, the English Ladies' Football Association was formed. A silver cup was donated by the first president of the association, Len Bridgett. A total of 24 teams entered the first competition in the spring of 1922. The winners were Stoke Ladies who beat Doncaster and Bentley Ladies 3-1 on 24 June 1922.

The Championship of Great Britain and the World

In 1937 and 1938, the Dick, Kerr's Ladies F.C. played Edinburgh Ladies in the "Championship of Great Britain and the World". Edinburgh Ladies won in 1937, Dick, Kerr's Ladies F.C. 1938.

UEFA Women's Championship

Unofficial women's European tournaments for national teams were held in Italy in 1969 and 1979 and won by Italy and Denmark, but there was no formal international tournament until 1982 when the first UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

European Competition For Representative Women's Teams was launched. The 1984 Finals

1984 European Competition for Women's Football

The 1984 European Competition for Women's Football was won by Sweden on penalties against England. It comprised four qualifying groups, and the winner of each went through to the semi-finals which were played over two legs, home and away...

was won by Sweden

Sweden women's national football team

Sweden women's national football team are a football team officially representing Sweden in women's football. They won the unofficial European Championships in 1984, a success the team has not managed to repeat, it has however won one World Cup-silver as well as three European Cup-silvers...

. This competition name was succeeded by the UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Women's Championship

The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro and unofficially the "European Cup", held every fourth year, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA Confederation...

and today, is commonly referred to as the Women's Euro. Norway

Norway women's national football team

The Norway women's national football team represents Norway in international women's football. The team, controlled by the Football Association of Norway, are former European, World and Olympic champions and thus one of the most successful national teams...

won, in the 1987 Finals. Since then, the UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Women's Championship

has been dominated by Germany

Germany women's national football team

The German women's national football team represents Germany in international women's football and is directed by the German Football Association . The team – informally called West Germany in English – played its first international match in 1982...

, which has won seven out of eight events, interrupted only by Norway in 1993. Germany's 2009

2009 UEFA Women's Championship

The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between August 23 and September 10, 2009. The host was appointed on July 11, 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over the Dutch proposal.The UEFA Women's Championship...

win was their fifth in a row.

Women's World Cup

Prior to the FIFA's 1991 establishment of the Women's World Cup, several unofficial world tournaments took place in the 1970s and 1980s, including the FIFA's Women's Invitation Tournament 1988, which was hosted in Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

.

The first Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup

The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the...

was held in the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

in November 1991, and was won by the USA

United States women's national soccer team

The United States women's national soccer team represents the United States in international soccer competition and is controlled by U.S. Soccer. The U.S. team won the first ever Women's World Cup in 1991, and has since been a superpower in women's soccer. It is currently ranked first in the world...

. The third Cup, held in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in June–July 1999, drew worldwide television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

interest and a final in front of a record-setting 90,000+ Los Angeles

Rose Bowl (stadium)

The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...

crowd, where the USA won 5-4 on penalty kicks

Penalty shootout (football)

A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...

against China

China women's national football team

The China women's national football team represents the People's Republic of China in international women's football.- Records :China had held the record of going for 442 minutes without conceding a World Cup goal, until it was broken by Germany on September 26, 2007, when Germany beat Norway 3-0...

Copa Libertadores de América de Fútbol Femenino

The Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino

Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino

The Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino is the international women's association football club competition for teams that play in CONMEBOL nations. The competition started in the 2009 season in response to the increased interest in women's football...

(Women's Libertadores Cup) is the international women's football club competition for teams that play in CONMEBOL

CONMEBOL

The South American Football Confederation , commonly known as CONMEBOL , is the continental governing body of association football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations...

nations. The competition started in the 2009 season in response to the increased interest in women's football. It is the only CONMEBOL club competition for women, and it is sometimes called the Copa Libertadores Femenina.

Olympics

For the 1996 established 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

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

does not recognise their FIFA status as separate teams in competitions. The participation of UK men's and women's sides at the 2012 Olympic tournament

Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics is scheduled to be held in London and several other cities in the United Kingdom, from 25 July to 11 August. The finals will be played at Wembley Stadium. Associations affiliated with FIFA are invited to send their full women's national teams and men's U-23...

was a bone of contention between the four national associations in the UK from 2005, when the Games were awarded to London, to 2009. England

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

was strongly in favour of unified UK teams, while Scotland

Scottish Football Association

The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...

, Wales

Football Association of Wales

The Football Association of Wales is the governing body of association football in Wales. It is a member of FIFA, UEFA and the IFAB.Established in 1876 , it is the third-oldest national association in the world, and is one of the four associations The Football Association of Wales (FAW) is the...

, and Northern Ireland

Irish Football Association

The Irish Football Association is the organising body for association football in Northern Ireland, and was historically the governing body for Ireland...

were opposed, fearing adverse consequences for the independent status of the Home Nations within FIFA. Eventually, a compromise was reached by which England alone will field teams under the UK banner (officially "Great Britain") for the 2012 Games.

Youth and amateur

Youth tournaments

Besides the United States and Germany (which won the 2003 and 2007 World Cups), the strongest women's teams have traditionally been , , and , with nations like 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

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The final was an all-CONCACAF

CONCACAF

The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is the continental governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean...

affair, with the USA defeating the host Canadians 1-0 with an extra-time golden goal

Golden goal

The golden goal is a method used in association football, field hockey, ice hockey and korfball to decide the winner of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of regulation time. It is a type of sudden death. Golden goal rules allow the team that scores the first goal during...

. The second event was held in Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

in 2004 and won by Germany

Germany women's national under-20 football team

The Germany Women's National Under-20 Football Team represents the female under-20s of Germany in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, and is controlled by the German Football Association, the governing body of football in Germany.-World Cup:* 2006 Quarter-finals...

. The age limit was raised to 20, starting with the 2006 event

2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship

The 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship was held in Russia from 17 August to 3 September 2006. It was the officially recognized world championship for women's under-20 national football teams...

held in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Demonstrating the increasing global reach of the women's game, the winners of this event were North Korea

Korea DPR women's national football team

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea women's national football team represents North Korea in international women's football. North Korea were the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship winners, and won the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2001, 2003 and 2008....

. The tournament was renamed the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, effective with the 2008 edition

2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

The 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was held in Chile between November 19 and December 7, 2008. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in the final competition, in which Chile had a guaranteed place as the host nation....

won by the USA in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. The current champions are Germany, who won at home

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

in 2010

2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

The 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was held in Germany from July 13 to August 1. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, were taking part in the final competition, in which Germany had a guaranteed place as the host nation....

.

In 2008, FIFA instituted an under-17 world championship

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association...

. The inaugural event

2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

-Group B:---------------------Group C:---------------------Group D:---------------------Knockout stage:All times local -Quarterfinals:-----------------Semifinals:---------3rd Place Playoff:----...

, held in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, was won by North Korea. The current champions at this level are South Korea, who won their first worldwide FIFA title in Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

in 2010

2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

The 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup women's football tournament is the second such tournament, and was held in Trinidad and Tobago from September 5–25, 2010...

United States

In the United States, the intercollegiate sport began from physical education programs that helped establish organized teams. After sixty years of trying to gain social acceptance women's football was introduced to the college level. In the late 1970s, women's club teams started to appear on college campus, but it wasn't until the 1980s that they started to gain recognition and gained a varsity status. Brown University was the first college to grant full varsity level status to their women's soccer team. The Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) sponsored the first regional women's soccer tournament at college in the USA, which was held at Brown University. The first national level tournament was held at Colorado College, which gained official AIAW sponsorship in 1981. The 1990s saw greater participation mainly due to the Title IX

Title IX

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...

of 23 June 1972, which increases school's budgets and their addition of women's scholarships.

"Currently there are over 700 intercollegiate women's soccer teams playing for many types and sizes of colleges and universities. This includes colleges and universities that are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)."

Attire

In 2004 FIFA President Sepp Blatter

Sepp Blatter

Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...

suggested that women should "wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts... to create a more female aesthetic" and attract more male fans. It was reported that this incurred criticism from female footballers and some newspapers.

In September 2008 FC de Rakt women's team (FC de Rakt DA1) in the Netherlands made international headlines by swapping its old kit for a new one featuring short skirts and tight-fitting shirts. This innovation, which had been requested by the team itself, was initially vetoed by the Royal Dutch Football Association

Royal Dutch Football Association

The Royal Dutch Football Association is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues , the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch national football team. It is based in the municipality of Zeist.The KNVB came into being on 8 December 1889...

on the grounds that according to the rules of the game shorts must be worn by all players, both male and female; but this decision was reversed when it was revealed that the FC de Rakt team were wearing hot pants under their skirts, and were therefore technically in compliance. Denying that the kit change is merely a publicity stunt, club chairman Jan van den Elzen told Reuters

Reuters

Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...

:
21-year-old team captain Rinske Temming said:
In June 2011 Iran

Iran women's national football team

The Iran women's national football team represents Iran in international women's football, and is controlled by Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation...

forfeited an Olympic qualification match in Jordan

Jordan women's national football team

-World Cup record:-Performance in Summer Olympics:*2008 : Withdrew from qualification*2012 : Did not qualify-AFC Women's Asian Cup record:-Asian Games:*2006 : preliminary round*2010 : preliminary round...

, after trying to take to the field in hijab

Hijab

The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....

s and full body suits. FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

awarded a default 3–0 win to Jordan, explaining that the Iranian kits were "an infringement of the Laws of the Game", due to safety concerns. The decision provoked strong criticism from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while Iranian officials alleged that the actions of the Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

i match delegate had been politically motivated.

Also in June 2011, Russian UEFA Women's Champions League contenders WFC Rossiyanka

WFC Rossiyanka

WFC Rossiyanka is a Russian women's football club from Krasnoarmeysk near Moscow.The team was founded in 1990 as a futsal club. Futsal was played until 1998, when the club left it and concentrated in football. The teams first season was 1999 and ended in a 5th place...

announced a plan to play in bikini

Bikini

The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...

s in a bid to boost attendances.

Hooliganism

In 2000, during the Women's African Cup of Nations final, Nigeria

Nigeria women's national football team

The Nigeria national women's football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation...

scored a controversial goal that many felt was offside. South African fans began throwing bottles at Nigerian players and started fights. Riot police had to come in and the game was abandoned. The Cup was awarded to Nigeria.

External links

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