Women's association football

Women's association football
Alex Morgan and Stefanie van der Gragt battle for the ball during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Final in Lyon, France
Highest governing bodyFIFA
First played1880s, Great Britain[1][2]
Characteristics
Team members11 per side (including goalkeeper)
Mixed-sexNo, separate competitions
TypeTeam sport, ball sport
EquipmentFootball (or soccer ball), shin pads, football boots, kits, and gloves (for goalkeepers)
VenueFootball pitch (football ground, soccer field, soccer ground or "pitch")
GlossaryGlossary of association football
Presence
Country or regionWorldwide
OlympicSince 1996

Women's association football, more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer,[a] is the team sport of association football played by women. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries, and 187 national teams participate internationally.[3] The same rules, known as the Laws of the Game, are used for both women's and men's football.

After the "first golden age" of women's football occurred in the United Kingdom in the 1920s, with one match attracting over 50,000 spectators,[4] The Football Association instituted a ban from 1921 to 1970 in England that disallowed women's football on the grounds used by its member clubs.[5] In many other nations, female footballers faced similarly hostile treatment and bans by male-dominated organisations.[6]

In the 1970s, international women's football tournaments were extremely popular,[7][8] and the oldest surviving continental championship was founded, the AFC Women's Asian Cup. However, a woman did not speak at the FIFA Congress until 1986 (Ellen Wille).[9] The FIFA Women's World Cup was first held in China in 1991 and has since become a major television event in many countries.[10][11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pink2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Donmouth1881 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The FIFA Women's World Ranking". FIFA. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Trail-blazers who pioneered women's football". BBC News. 3 June 2005. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Women's FA Cup final: The evolution of women's football". BBC Sport. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  6. ^ "The Offside Museum highlights when women were banned from playing soccer". The Drum. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019.
  7. ^ Bill Wilson (7 December 2018). "Mexico 1971: When women's football hit the big time". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Martini and Rosso's sponsorship of the Women's World Cups in 1970 and 1971 Celebrating 50 years since an innovative sports partnership began". JJ Heritage. 6 June 2020. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  9. ^ Gorman, Sophie (26 June 2019). "Ellen Wille, the mother of women's football". France 24. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  10. ^ Sandomir, Richard (7 July 2015). "Women's World Cup final was most-watched soccer game in US history". CNBC. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  11. ^ FIFA.com. "FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 - News - FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 watched by more than 1 billion". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.


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