One hundred years ago, there was a team called "Dick Kerr Ladies" in the UK, which drew both audiences and money.
When the men went to war during the First World War, it was the women who took over the jobs in the factories.
Thousands of men died and were injured as a result of the war, and aid was needed for those affected by the war.
Gail Newsham, author of the book “In a League of Their Own!
the Dick, Kerr Ladies 1917-1965 ”says:
- The girls made ammunition in the factories and played football with the boys during the breaks.
That's how it started.
The women then decided to start playing charity matches and get paid to contribute to the families who needed money.
At most 53,000 spectators came and 14,000 are said to have had to wait kindly outside.
They simply did not fit.
A breathtaking figure that even today qualifies in the top ten of women's football's most watched matches.
Four of the players in Dick Kerr Ladies.
Photo: British Pathé
Dick Kerr Ladies during one of their charity matches.
Photo: British Pathé
Women were forbidden to play football in the arenas
But when the war was over in 1918 and the men were back in everyday life, the hard blow came.
The English Football Association, FA, had received complaints about women playing football.
Football was, according to the complaints, unsuitable for women to play and too little of the money went to charity.
Therefore, on 5 December 1921, the English Football Association banned clubs from organizing matches played by women.
A devastating decision for football.
But above all for the women who practiced it.
- The ban lasted for 50 years and it was the last injustice of the last century in sports, says Gail Newsham.