International reporting
In Sheffield, the revenge of English women's football
Audio 03:07
The English qualify for the semi-final of the Women's Football Euro against Spain on July 20, 2022. © REUTERS / Matthew Childs
By: Martin Guez Follow
3 mins
This Tuesday, July 26 in Sheffield, in the north of England, the English host Sweden in the semi-finals of the Women's Euro.
A historic meeting in more ways than one.
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From our special correspondent in Sheffield,
Back with a bang and back to basics.
It all started in Sheffield.
Where football was invented, codified in the 19th century.
This is also where the history of the women's team is written.
An English victory against Sweden would be a nice revenge for the pioneers of football, who cleared the ground in the 1920s in the region, before the English authorities banned them from playing for almost 50 years.
Peter and his three daughters are wearing England shirts and will be watching the game in the fan zone on Tuesday: “
We mostly watched the games on TV.
This is obviously the greatest popular enthusiasm that the women's team has experienced in the country.
Although I find that some stadiums are a bit small.
Besides, we couldn't get tickets for this semi-final.
»
Stop looking for Peter, tickets, there are no more.
The event was a huge popular success and broke all attendance records from previous Euros.
And yet, the attractiveness of women's football is not new, recalls Gail Newsham, a true historian of the discipline: "
Before this Euro, the attendance record for a women's match dated from 1920. In the Goodison Park stadium in 'Everton, 53,000 spectators were present, and nearly 15,000 remained outside, for lack of space.
Almost 70,000 people came to see a women's game, which was quite an incredible record.
»
The mythical Dick, Kerr's Ladies
A team then symbolizes this incredible success: the Dick, Kerr's Ladies Football Club, named after an arms factory, also located in the north of England.
“
Women started playing football during the First World War.
The men were at the front and they were playing charity matches to raise money and support the war effort,
Gail Newsham continues
.
The most famous team was the Dick, Kerr's Ladies, created in 1917. In 1921 alone, they played 67 matches across the country, and nearly a million people came to see them. support.
»
But the thinning is short-lived, since women will quickly be banned from the lawns, deprived of land for nearly 50 years.
"
Women's football was banned in December 1921 by the English federation, which considered its practice unseemly for women, and that it should not be encouraged,
" Gail Newsham recalls
.
But above all, at that time, the federation wanted to grow and develop its income, and did not see favorably the competition of these women's matches, which attracted more people than most men's matches.
»
It will be necessary to wait until 1971, under pressure from UEFA, for women to be able to play again in England, and 2017 for the appearance of a 100% professional division.
UEFA panels retrace the history of this prohibition in Sheffield.
They caught Karin's attention.
"
I was aware of this long ban,
" she says.
It's good that today women are showing men that they too can play and play very well.
We all follow football in this country, and the women's team has captured the attention of the English public.
»
The attention of the public and that of her nine-year-old son, Holy, jersey of the three lionesses on the back.
“
I followed almost all the Euro matches.
My favorite player is Ellen White.
Because she scores a lot of goals!
This is the first time that I am in a women's competition.
And it's really cool to watch
,” the kid gets carried away.
Holy, a lucky child, will be at the stadium this Tuesday with his mother to support Hélène White and the English team, worthy heiress of the pioneers.
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