During World War I, a large proportion of Britain’s female population began working in factories to fill the gap left by the men who had gone to fight. This mass movement into the workplace soon led to another movement with a profound impact. The unease surrounding women who worked soon became an afterthought as they played a crucial part in the war effort, however, they did not aid the war effort just through their work in the factories. The sense of community that factory work facilitated with so many women now working together led to the birth of women’s football. Subsequently, this raised thousands of pounds for war related causes, for example large donations to hospitals for the treatment of soldiers being one of them.
The story of women’s football began in the late 19th century, with the first most notable women’s game involving the British Ladies Football Club, who “played their first match at Crouch End Athletic Ground, London in 1895. The team had success and toured the country playing football but went into decline after about a year and gradually fizzled out.”[1]. The success of the British Ladies led them to play many more games, before interest in the women’s game faded.
The first World War saw the rejuvenation of the women’s game and on Christmas day 1916, the idea of creating football teams from female factory workers was born. On this day, women from a munitions factory in Ulverston played a game against female team made up of nationwide players. The growth of factory football teams led to the eventual creation of the Munitionettes Cup and the final of the first edition was played in May 1918, drawing in a crowd of 22,000. The creation of the Munitionettes Cup and the fact that so many people were in attendance for the final is a great example of the role that employment played in the growth of women’s football and the factory team of Dick, Kerr ladies from Preston built upon this growth to great extent.
On Christmas Day 1917, the women of the Dick, Kerr & Co. munitions factory in Preston played their first match, in front of ten thousand fans. This match raised £600 for injured soldiers, which is equivalent approximately to £44,000 today. The Dick, Kerr ladies would go on to become arguably the greatest women’s team ever.
The inter-war years were a time when women were given both greater responsibilities and freedoms within society, such as the ability to work and form active football teams. The patriarchal framework of society was still ever-present but the success of Dick, Kerr’s team was a catalyst for the rapid growth of women’s football. The ten thousand spectators present at Dick, Kerr ladies’ first game that was played at Deepdale was just the beginning as they drew in crowds of up to 53,000 on Boxing Day, 1920.
Women’s games were held at the same stadiums that the men had played in such as Deepdale, Stamford Bridge, Goodison Park and Old Trafford. Also similar to the men’s game was the fact that the women wore shorts, an area where despite the popularity of the women’s game patriarchal society was unhappy with, referring to them as “unmentionable garments”.
The history making did not stop there for the side from Preston, as they were also the first women’s side to go on tour, playing against teams such as a French eleven whom they beat 2-0.
However, where the women’s game would always struggle in comparison to the men’s game was acceptance. This is highlighted by the story of Annie Welch, a player for Dick, Kerr ladies who was added to the teams roll of honour belatedly- “Annie Welch has been added to the roll of honour. I have been reliably informed that Annie did in fact play for the Dick, Kerr Ladies, but had to use a different name as her father was totally against her playing football”[2]. The opposition from her father led Annie Welch to play under a different name, having already had to deal with her father burning her boots despite the positive contributions her and her teammates were making outside of football.
Beyond the struggles of individuals such as Welch, there were obstacles such as the Pre-War Practices Act of 1919 which encouraged women to leave their factory jobs to make way for the men returning from the war. Such an act was disrespectful to the work that had been done by women during the war and it also led to the collapse of many women’s teams. The Dick, Kerr ladies’ standing in the history of women’s football was made possible due to factory manager Alfred Frankland, who asked the factory owners to guarantee his players’ jobs, therefore allowing the team to continue. For the players that were without clubs as a result of losing their jobs, Dick, Kerr recruited them, thus creating arguably the greatest women’s team to play the game.
The destabilisation to women’s football caused by the Pre-War Practices Act was eventually compounded by the Football Association when they banned women’s football. This decision came into effect on 5th December 1921, with one of the reasons cited being that football was a “unsuitable for females” whilst they also believed that the sport was a “deterrent to beauty”, with male society clearly not prepared for women…to wear shorts and run around. It was not only those at the top of the FA that were responsible for such criticism and contempt towards women’s football, as doctors would also falsify medical tests in order to ‘prove’ how unsuitable football was for women.
The decimation of the women’s game was born from a desire to accommodate returning soldiers, not only through jobs but by placing them at the centre of spectator sports. Despite the FA being supportive initially, they turned their back on women after the war and gave in to the unnecessary criticisms of a game that had brought relief and enjoyment during the war.
In the immediate aftermath of the ban Leonard Bridgett, who had managed Stoke Ladies, set up the E.L.F.A – English Ladies Football Association. The aim of this organisation was to facilitate women being able to play at a similar level that they had done previously by taking ownership of the game away from the FA. However, the E.L.F.A’s existence did not last long due to a lack of funds.
Despite the ban, women continued to play football but with less support and awareness around their game. The Dick, Kerr ladies continued to tour overseas and play games, playing over 200 games before disbanding in 1965, six years before ban was lifted.
The issues of support and funding from male fans and organisations respectively have continued to plague women’s football following the lifting of the ban. From the grassroots level up toward professional football, women’s football has been neglected and this has been highlighted by current campaigns such as #hergametoo, which aims to increase accessibility to football for young girls across the country. At a professional level, clubs with women’s teams have previously failed to give their female counterparts the necessary support in order to raise the profile of the game. In 2011, the inaugural season the of WSL (Women’s Super League) took place in England and only contained eight teams. The previous form of the WSL, the FA Women’s Premier League National Division, contained ten teams before expanding to twelve teams and then being reduced to eight teams. Footballing institutions such as Manchester United only created a women’s team in 2018.
The women’s game is growing, however. More clubs have now created women’s teams, such as Manchester United and West Ham, while fan attendances and are also growing. In addition to this, Barclays have also announced they will be extended their sponsorship of the WSL which will see greater investments from them over the next few years.
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