Editing Association football (section)

=== Women's association football ===
{{Main|Women's association football}}

Women's association football has historically seen opposition, with national associations severely curbing its development and several [[Bans of women's association football|outlawing it]] completely. Nevertheless, women have been playing football and similar games for as long as such games have existed. Frescoes from the [[Han dynasty#Eastern Han|Han dynasty]] (25–220 CE) depict female figures playing the ancient Chinese game ''[[cuju]]''.<ref name="globalgame">{{cite web |title=Genesis of 'The Global Game' |url=http://www.theglobalgame.com/aboutus.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521234151/http://www.theglobalgame.com/aboutus.html |archive-date=21 May 2006 |access-date=22 May 2006 |work=The Global Game}}</ref><ref name="footballnetwork">{{cite web |title=The Chinese and Tsu Chu |work=The Football Network |url=http://www.footballnetwork.org/dev/historyoffootball/history1.asp |access-date=1 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106061612/http://www.footballnetwork.org/dev/historyoffootball/history1.asp |archive-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> There are also reports of annual football matches played by women in [[Midlothian (historic)|Midlothian]], Scotland, during the 1790s.<ref name="SFA">{{cite web |title=A Brief History of Women's Football |url=http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?curpageid=409 |publisher=Scottish Football Association|access-date=18 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308172042/http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?curpageid=409|archive-date=8 March 2005}}</ref><ref name="Herald">{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12080678.display/ |title=A game of two sexes |work=The Herald |location=Glasgow |date=8 February 1997|access-date=18 June 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107012935/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12080678.display/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:British Ladies Football Club.jpg|thumb|North team of the [[British Ladies' Football Club|British Ladies']], the first organised women's football team, here pictured in March 1895]]
There is documented evidence of women's early involvement in the modern game of association football.<ref name="Herald" /><ref name="FA" /> The first match recorded by the [[Scottish Football Association]] took place in 1892 in [[Glasgow]].<ref name="SFA" /> In England, the first recorded game of football between women took place in 1895.<ref name="FA">{{cite web |url=http://www.thefa.com/Womens/EnglandSenior/History/ |title=Women's Football History |publisher=The Football Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325030003/http://www.thefa.com/Womens/EnglandSenior/History/|archive-date=25 March 2009}}</ref> Women's football has traditionally been associated with charity games and physical exercise, particularly in the United Kingdom.<ref name="BBC-Gregory">{{cite news |last=Gregory |first=Patricia |date=3 June 2005 |title=How women's football battled for survival |work=BBC Sport |publisher= |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/women/4607171.stm |url-status=live |access-date=19 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202110455/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/women/4607171.stm |archive-date=2 December 2017}}</ref>

Association football continued to be played by women since the time of the first recorded women's games in the late 19th century.<ref name="BBC-Gregory" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/no-longer-the-game-of-two-halves.19185657 |title=No longer the game of two-halves |work=The Herald |publisher=Herald & Times Group |date=19 October 2012 |access-date=9 March 2014 |first=Alan |last=Campbell |archive-date=29 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329014321/http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/no-longer-the-game-of-two-halves.19185657 |url-status=live}}</ref> The best-documented early European team was founded by activist [[Nettie Honeyball]] in England in 1894. It was named the [[British Ladies' Football Club]]. Honeyball is quoted as, "I founded the association late last year [1894], with the fixed resolve of proving to the world that women are not the 'ornamental and useless' creatures men have pictured. I must confess, my convictions on all matters where the sexes are so widely divided are all on the side of [[Feminism|emancipation]], and I look forward to the time when ladies may sit in [[Parliament]] and have a voice in the direction of affairs, especially those which concern them most".<ref name="Nettie Honeyball">{{cite web |last=Ladda |first=Shawn |title=Women's involvement with soccer was part of the emancipation process. |url=http://www.soccertimes.com/oped/1999/jul20.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116204454/http://www.soccertimes.com/oped/1999/jul20.htm |archive-date=16 November 2006 |access-date=4 May 2006 |work=SoccerTimes}}</ref> Honeyball and those like her paved the way for women's football. However, the women's game was frowned upon by the British football associations and continued without their support. It has been suggested that this was motivated by a perceived threat to the "masculinity" of the game.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mårtensson |first=Stefan |title=Branding women's football in a field of hegemonic masculinity |journal=Entertainment and Sports Law Journal |date=June 2010 |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=5 |doi=10.16997/eslj.44|doi-access=free| issn=1748-944X}}</ref>

Women's football became popular on a large scale at the time of the [[First World War]], when female employment in heavy industry spurred the growth of the game, much as it had done for men 50 years earlier. The most successful team of the era was [[Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C.]] of [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston, England]]. The team played in one of the first women's international matches against a French XI team in 1920,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Dick, Kerr Ladies' FC |url=http://www.donmouth.co.uk/womens_football/dick_kerr.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521192224/http://www.donmouth.co.uk/womens_football/dick_kerr.html |archive-date=21 May 2022 |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=Donmouth}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 – Home Front – The Forgotten First International Women's Football Match |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5nsXCQcNm7wggTxvS0y1BnF/the-forgotten-first-international-women-s-football-match |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=BBC |language=en |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812061017/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5nsXCQcNm7wggTxvS0y1BnF/the-forgotten-first-international-women-s-football-match |url-status=live}}</ref> and also made up most of the England team against a [[Women's football in Scotland|Scottish Ladies]] XI in the same year, winning 22–0.<ref name="SFA" />

Despite being more popular than some men's football events, with one match seeing a 53,000 strong crowd in 1920,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Leighton |first1=Tony |title=FA apologies for 1921 ban |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/feb/11/newsstory.womensfootball |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=6 August 2014 |date=10 February 2008|archive-date=10 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810174231/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/feb/11/newsstory.womensfootball|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="BBC-Alexander">{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Shelley |date=3 June 2005 |title=Trail-blazers who pioneered women's football |work=BBC Sport |publisher= |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/women/4603149.stm |url-status=live |access-date=19 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202114818/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/women/4603149.stm |archive-date=2 December 2017}}</ref> [[women's football in England]] suffered a blow in 1921 when [[the Football Association]] outlawed the playing of the game on association members' pitches,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Witzig |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H2T0ZD5S86QC&pg=PA65 |title=The Global Art of Soccer |publisher=CusiBoy Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-9776688-0-9 |page=65 |access-date=6 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601233310/https://books.google.com/books?id=H2T0ZD5S86QC&q=1921+fa+ban&pg=PA65 |archive-date=1 June 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> stating that "the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged".<ref name="BBC-Wrack">{{Cite news |last=Wrack |first=Suzanne |date=13 June 2022 |title=How the FA banned women's football in 1921 and tried to justify it |language=en |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/13/how-the-fa-banned-womens-football-in-1921-and-tried-to-justify-it |access-date=16 February 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=14 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214145355/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/13/how-the-fa-banned-womens-football-in-1921-and-tried-to-justify-it |url-status=live}}</ref> Players and football writers have argued that this ban was, in fact, due to envy of the large crowds that women's matches attracted,<ref name="BBC-Alexander" /> and because the FA had no control over the money made from the women's game.<ref name="BBC-Wrack" /> The FA ban led to the formation of the short-lived [[English Ladies Football Association]] and play moved to [[rugby football|rugby]] grounds.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Newsham |first1=Gail |title=In a League of Their Own. The Dick, Kerr Ladies 1917–1965 |year=2014 |publisher=Paragon Publishing}}</ref> Women's football also faced bans in several other countries, notably in [[Women's football in Brazil|Brazil]] from 1941 to 1979,<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 February 2018 |title=Women footballers: Born with talent, held back by prejudice |language=en |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43198651 |access-date=16 February 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107174048/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43198651 |url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Women's football in France|France]] from 1941 to 1970,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lasserre |first=Victoria |date=7 July 2022 |title=5 dates clefs sur l'histoire du football féminin |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.fr/histoire-du-football-feminin,2057854.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926162514/https://www.cosmopolitan.fr/histoire-du-football-feminin,2057854.asp |archive-date=26 September 2022 |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=Cosmopolitan.fr |language=fr}}</ref> and in [[Women's football in Germany|West Germany]] from 1955 to 1970.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wünsch |first=Silke |date=20 June 2011 |title=Female footballers |url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-elusive-popularity-of-womens-football/a-15172167 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724105057/https://www.dw.com/en/the-elusive-popularity-of-womens-football/a-15172167 |archive-date=24 July 2022 |access-date=16 February 2023 |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]] |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Tytöt-04 Piteåssa.JPG|thumb|right|A young Finnish girls' football team in Sweden]]

Restrictions began to be reduced in the 1960s and 1970s. The [[Serie A (women's football)|Italian women's football league]] was established in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nssmag.com/en/sports/16658/calcio-femminile-italia |title=The reinassance of women's football in Italy |first=Giulio |last=Pecci |work=NSS Magazine |date=5 November 2018 | access-date=22 October 2023 | archive-date=12 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212062410/https://www.nssmag.com/en/sports/16658/calcio-femminile-italia | url-status=live}}</ref> In December 1969, the [[Women's Football Association]] was formed in England,<ref name="BBC-Gregory" /><ref name="Hist">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=History of women's football |url=http://www.thefa.com/womens-girls-football/history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224043854/http://www.thefa.com/womens-girls-football/history |archive-date=24 February 2020 |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=The Football Association |language=en}}</ref> with the sport eventually becoming the most prominent [[team sport]] for women in the United Kingdom.<ref name="BBC-Gregory" /> Two unofficial women's World Cups were organised by the [[FIEFF]] in [[1970 Women's World Cup|1970]] and in [[1971 Women's World Cup|1971]]. Also in 1971, UEFA members voted to officially recognise women's football,<ref name="BBC-Gregory" /> while the Football Association rescinded the ban that prohibited women from playing on association members' pitches in England.<ref name="Hist" />

Women's football still faces many struggles, but its worldwide growth<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kleen |first=Brendon |date=21 December 2022 |title=Women's Football Is Growing in the Middle East and North Africa |url=https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2022/12/21/beyond-qatar-world-cup-womens-football-growing-middle-east-north-africa/ |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=Global Sport Matters |language=en |archive-date=29 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129023329/https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2022/12/21/beyond-qatar-world-cup-womens-football-growing-middle-east-north-africa/ |url-status=live}}</ref> has seen major competitions being launched at both the [[Women's football around the world|national]] and [[international competitions in women's football|international]] levels, mirroring the men's competitions. The [[FIFA Women's World Cup]] was inaugurated in 1991: [[1991 FIFA Women's World Cup|the first tournament]] was held in China, featuring 12 teams from the respective six confederations. The World Cup has been held every four years since;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament=103/awards/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430044344/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament%3D103/awards/index.html |archive-date=30 April 2011 |title=Tournaments: Women's World Cup |publisher=FIFA |access-date=11 March 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> by [[2019 FIFA Women's World Cup|2019]], it had expanded to 24 national teams, and 1.12&nbsp;billion viewers watched the competition.<ref name="forbes_2019wwc">{{cite news |last1=Glass |first1=Alana |date=21 October 2019 |title=FIFA Women's World Cup Breaks Viewership Records |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2019/10/21/fifa-womens-world-cup-breaks-viewership-records/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424203645/https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2019/10/21/fifa-womens-world-cup-breaks-viewership-records/ |archive-date=24 April 2021}}</ref> [[2023 FIFA Women's World Cup|Four years later]], FIFA targeted the 32-team 2023 Women's World Cup at an audience of 2&nbsp;billion,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-11 |title=With 100 days to Women's World Cup, calls for gender equity grow |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/4/11/womens-world-cup-australia-new-zealand-gender-equity |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=27 October 2024 |archive-date=18 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518130954/https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/4/11/womens-world-cup-australia-new-zealand-gender-equity |url-status=live}}</ref> while about 1.4&nbsp;million tickets were sold, setting a Women's World Cup record.<ref>{{cite news|date=19 July 2023 |title=Women's World Cup ticket sales break record with close to 1.4m sold on eve of 2023 tournament |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jul/19/womens-world-cup-2023-record-breaking-ticket-sales-australia-new-zealand |work=The Guardian |access-date=27 October 2024 |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719222710/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jul/19/womens-world-cup-2023-record-breaking-ticket-sales-australia-new-zealand |url-status=live}}</ref> Women's football has been an Olympic event since [[football at the 1996 Summer Olympics&nbsp;– Women's tournament|1996]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Moore |first=Kevin |editor-last1=Hassan |editor-first1=David |editor-last2=Mitra |editor-first2=Shakya |chapter=Football and the Olympics and Paralympics |title=The Olympic Games: Meeting New Global Challenges |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |location=London |page=68 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e6nDCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |isbn=978-0-415-74176-7 |access-date=8 January 2019 |archive-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026173434/https://books.google.com/books?id=e6nDCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |url-status=live}}</ref>

North America is the dominant region in women's football, with the [[United States women's national soccer team|United States]] winning the most FIFA Women's World Cups<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/news/uswnt-womens-world-cup-results |title=Women's World Cup: USWNT results at each tournament |date=6 August 2023 | access-date=22 April 2024 | archive-date=22 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422014149/https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/news/uswnt-womens-world-cup-results | url-status=live}}</ref> and Olympic tournaments. Europe and Asia come second and third in terms of international success,<ref>{{Cite web |title=FIFA Women's World Cup History – Past World Cup Winners, Hosts, Most Goals and more |url=https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/2023-fifa-womens-world-cup/history |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=FOX Sports |language=en |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206123613/https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/2023-fifa-womens-world-cup/history |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Ryan |date=8 August 2021 |title=Which country has won the most Olympic gold medals in football? |url=https://www.goal.com/en/news/which-country-has-won-most-olympic-gold-medals-football/1o1jkyn3l7wlm1vxfqzy09h6e0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110224304/https://www.goal.com/en/news/which-country-has-won-most-olympic-gold-medals-football/1o1jkyn3l7wlm1vxfqzy09h6e0 |archive-date=10 November 2022 |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=Goal.com}}</ref> and the women's game has been improving in South America.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rey |first=Debora |date=7 July 2022 |title=South American women's soccer improving but some way to go |url=https://apnews.com/article/womens-soccer-sports-south-america-chile-bb6e9ae71b8ec5d05dfb5b246855d88d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128065120/https://apnews.com/article/womens-soccer-sports-south-america-chile-bb6e9ae71b8ec5d05dfb5b246855d88d |archive-date=28 November 2022 |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref>