Last Updated on: 11th October 2024, 04:23 pm
Women’s Football Facts
Women’s World Cup 2019
Friday saw the FIFA Women’s World kick off in France; it will be a big year for football. The tournament has only been held 8 times since it started in 1991. That’s a whopping 61 years after the men’s first World Cup match. Over the next month, 9 stadiums will be hosting 52 matches being played by 24 teams. Of those 24 teams, only four have ever won the title: reigning champions the USA; Japan; Norway; and Germany. Nearly one million tickets have been sold and the opening match, semi-finals, and the final all sold out within 48 hours. It’s going to be the biggest Women’s World Cup in history and is proving that, finally, women’s football is getting the recognition it deserves.
1. Women’s Football was Banned in 1921
Women’s football has been a steadily growing sport for a few years now and it has attracted more and more fans. However, it’s been a long road getting here. The FA banned the sport in the early 1920s. On December 5th 1921, they prevented female footballers from playing on FA pitches and banned FA members from acting as referees and linesmen at their games. The FA released a statement saying it thought that football was “quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged”. Several doctors agreed that the sport posed a serious physical risk to women.
The ban relegated women to only playing football recreationally. At least until 1971, when the FA lifted its ban following the formation of the Women’s Football Association a few years earlier. To find out more about these dark days in women’s football history historyextra.com has a great article about it.
2. Pelé gave Marta Vieira da Silva the nickname “Pelé in skirts”
Some people regard Brazil’s Marta as the greatest female player of all time. She has been named FIFA World Player of the Year six times. For five consecutive years between 2006 and 2010 and most recently in 2018. This is not only a record for female players but for men too. Marta is a fantastic player and an inspiration to so many. And the 32-year-old doesn’t appear to have any plans of slowing down any time soon. You can see just what she’s capable of with this goal against the USA in the 2007 World Cup.
3. The England women’s team is more successful than the men’s
The women’s England team have qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup four times and reached the quarter-finals three times. At the 2015 World Cup, they finished third overall. They also came third in the 2017 Euros. The FA only took them on in 1993, which makes them a fairly young team. As of 2019, the women’s team is ranked third in the world whilst the men are fourth.
4. Bob Marley’s daughter is part of the reason Jamaica is at the 2019 World Cup
The Reggae Girlz are Jamaica’s national women’s team and they will be the first Caribbean squad to ever compete at the Women’s World Cup. They’ve obviously done this by proving their skills on the pitch but they also had a bit of help from the family of the greatest Reggae artist of all time. Cedella Marley, the eldest daughter of Bob Marley, helped revive the team.
Back in 2010, the team got their funding cut in favour of the men’s team. When Cedella heard about this, she spearheaded a campaign to raise funds for the women’s team. Cedella donated her own money and created a song, “Strike Hard”, in honour of the campaign.
5. Australia’s Sam Kerr is the highest-rated female player on Fifa 19
Sam Kerr is the 25-year-old captain and striker for the Australian team. She is the all-time goalscorer in the American NSWL and Australia’s W-League. Kerr made her debut 10 years ago and has earned her fair share of honours. She was the winner of the US domestic league golden boot in both 2017 and 2018. In 2018, she won Young Australian of the Year and was nominated for the Fifa best player award.
Kerr is a prolific goal scorer. She finished the Australian season as the top scorer and is also top of the charts in the US. Let’s not forget that she also happens to be the all-time record scorer in both leagues. Kerr is well-known for her goal celebration backflips, which, we have to admit, are pretty spectacular. As a testament to her skills, Kerr is the highest-rated female player in Fifa 19. Her rating of 89 is higher than Mohamed Salah.
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