Women's World Cup 2023: When women's football thrived decades ago

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 Members of The Amazons women's shot   team, grooming  astatine  Combe Martin, DevonImage source, Getty Images

Millions of radical volition beryllium tuning successful to spot England instrumentality connected Spain successful the Women's World Cup final.

The tourney successful Australia and New Zealand has truthful acold seen much than 1.7 cardinal tickets sold and has been the highest-profile women's shot contention yet.

It's the latest highest successful a increasing involvement successful the women's game, which has been gathering up implicit the past fewer years - aft decades successful the shadiness of men's football.

But it wasn't ever similar that - astatine 1 time, the athletics flourished successful England.

Matches pulled successful immense crowds - sometimes much than 50,000 people.

But past the women's crippled was efficaciously banned, with the FA astatine the clip saying the crippled of shot was "quite unsuitable for females".

It was different fractional period until women's shot got backmost connected its feet - and that's 1 crushed it lags down the men's crippled today.

This pistillate was the Lauren Hemp of her day

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Lily Parr throwing a javelin during training

Lily Parr was a winger and 1 of the archetypal pistillate nonrecreational players.

She played for the Dick, Kerr's Ladies squad which got its sanction from the munitions mill successful Preston wherever astir of the squad worked during World War One.

They were the archetypal women's squad to play wearing shorts, and the archetypal to spell connected an overseas tour.

Lily was besides a smoker, which led to rumours her wages were supplemented by packets of Woodbine cigarettes.

In 2002, she became the archetypal pistillate to beryllium inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame - and she precocious became the archetypal pistillate footballer to beryllium commemorated with a statue.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

The Dick, Kerr's Ladies squad instrumentality connected the French Ladies International squad astatine Herne Hill, London

Women's matches pulled successful tremendous crowds

There was a immense maturation successful women's shot during the warfare erstwhile women were called upon to bash mill jobs near by the men who had gone to fight.

On Christmas Day successful 1917, 10,000 spectators watched 2 women's teams playing astatine Preston.

And erstwhile Dick, Kerr's Ladies played St Helen's Ladies connected Boxing Day 1920 they pulled successful a assemblage of 53,000 astatine Everton's Goodison Park ground, with thousands much fans locked outside.

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Image caption,

Play during the Theatrical Ladies Football lucifer astatine Tottenham, northbound London, successful 1912

But past the women's crippled was efficaciously banned

On 5 December 1921, the Football Association banned women from playing connected FA-affiliated pitches which meant stars similar Lily Parr could nary longer play astatine grounds with spectator facilities.

The FA astatine the clip said "the crippled of shot is rather unsuitable for females and ought not to beryllium encouraged".

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Preston Ladies grooming successful 1939

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Image caption,

Joan Briggs, England centre forward, grooming successful July 1959

In 1971 the prohibition was yet lifted pursuing the enactment of the Women's Football Association (WFA) a mates of years earlier.

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Image caption,

Girls playing successful 1970, a twelvemonth earlier the effectual prohibition connected women playing successful nonrecreational stadiums was lifted

The Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 made it easier for women to bid to go nonrecreational referees.

Media caption,

A illustration of Joan Briggs, "celebrated prima of the ladies' shot world".

It has ever been beauteous pugnacious to ticker women's shot connected tv with the archetypal TV reports of the Women's FA Cup last results successful the 1970s.

In 1989 Channel 4 started to supply regular sum of women's football.

And the FA outlined its plans to make the women's crippled from grassroots to elite level successful 1997.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

The England squad successful 1997, erstwhile the FA acceptable retired a caller ngo to make the women's game

It was lone successful 2018 that the Women's Super League (WSL) became afloat professional.

Now, the latest figures amusement 3.4 cardinal women and girls play shot successful England.

The Euro 2022 last drew a grounds assemblage of 87,192 astatine Wembley, wherever England bushed Germany to triumph their archetypal large women's tournament.

There has since been increasing investment, meaning amended salaries and longer contracts for women.

When it comes to those watching connected TV successful the UK, England's World Cup semi-final against Australia was the astir watched of the tourney truthful far, with a highest assemblage of 7.3 million.

A mentation of this nonfiction was published successful 2019.

How to ticker the Women's World Cup final

The Women's World Cup last betwixt England and Spain connected Sunday volition beryllium shown unrecorded connected BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website from 10am.

BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds volition person vigor commentary arsenic some sides purpose to triumph their archetypal World Cup.

The BBC Sport website and app volition supply unrecorded substance commentary.

Follow Newsbeat connected Twitter and YouTube.

Listen to Newsbeat live astatine 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - oregon perceive backmost here.

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