Now it was many years between our last card and this one, and the same was true of women`s football, though upon the ban being announced an English Ladies Football Association was formed, of fifty eight clubs, and they continued to compete against each other, with the most successful team eventually winning a silver cup. They continued through the 1930s, but seem to have stopped with the War. And it seems that football also continued in Europe, for there is a very intriguing card of a 1930s German woman`s match at FootballSoccerCards.com/Greiling.
The first International Ladies Football Association`s European Championship took place in 1957, in West Berlin, despite women`s football being banned in Germany at the time. There were four teams, Austria, England, Netherlands, and West Germany, and England won. This was not the turning point though - that came because of the football fervour caused by England`s men winning the 1966 World Cup This led to many calls for the Football Association to lift the ban on women`s football, and in 1969, the newly formed English Women`s Football Association took up the cause. After this, the F.A. decided that they would consider an affiliation to what they called "ladies football", with a full lift of the ban coming in 1970. However, the rules were not altered to make such play possible until the middle of 1971.
Before this, though, in 1970, the first real woman`s world wide football tournament took place. This was called the Women`s World Championships and it took place in Italy, with teams from seven countries. It was not approved by FIFA and they gave no assistance. Denmark won, but the competing teams were Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland and West Germany. Other teams had applied, but pulled out - one of these was Brazil, where women`s football would remain illegal for another seven years. This was followed by the 1971 Women's World Championship, held in Mexico, which, once more, Denmark won.
This card is very apt for, also in the 1970s, it was Italy who led the world in having professional women footballers (albeit not full time) and also in setting up a system to transfer other players from other countries. However the honour of running a full Women`s league goes not to Italy, but to Denmark.
In 1972, the first ever England International match took place, and just like at the beginning of our story, this was England vs Scotland. This time, England won, 2-0. Despite this, it was not until 1991 that we had a national women`s league, which soon segued into three divisions each of ten teams, a Premier Division, and one each for the North and South of the country. However in 1993 there was almost disaster as the Women`s Football Association decided it could not continue. Kudos to the Football Association though, who agreed to take it over, and also devote full time staff and funding to the leagues as well as to the contests and trophies. They were also able to use their trademarks and allow for a Women`s World Cup, rather than just a World Championship.
Our card dates from the 2011 World Cup, and that is a very special event for cartophily, as it was the first time that a set had been devoted to women's football, as well as, astonishingly, the first set for any international sport solely played by women. Now curiously it seems to be the case that it was only available in Germany, the host nation of that World Cup, but the back is in several languages; surely a waste of money if they were not for distribution inside those countries. So if anyone can tell us more about this, please do.
We close, for now, with the UEFA Women’s EUROs 2022, when England beat Germany 2-1 and won the event outright. But if you head along to the Trading Card Database/WomenFootball you will find out just how many sets have been issued since.