99 years ago today, the FA banned Women from playing football on any pitch owned by their associated clubs, changing the course of the Women’s game forever.
The ban appeared to be a knee-jerk reaction to the popularity of the women’s game. Following the forced hiatus of the Football League during WWI, teams like Dick Kerr’s Ladies were attracting massive crowds while raising large amounts of money for charity.
In 1920, Dick Kerr were so dominant that they even represented England, defeating a French side 2-0 in front of a crowd of 25,000. This would be recorded as the first International Women’s fixture.
With the FA feeling that such popularity threatened the men’s game, in 1921 they declared clubs must refuse the use of their grounds for such matches.
It would take 50 years for the FA to reverse their decision in 1971, the damage was inconceivable. Today’s gulf in resources and exposure between the men’s and women’s games is a direct result of that decision on December 4th 1921, a day that changed football forever.
