 Women's football in the United Kingdom has been steadily growing in popularity since the 1960s, when the English Women's Football Association was formed. 1971 saw the ban on women's football being played on Football Association pitches be lifted, and also saw the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) recognise the women's variety of the sport as a legitimate institution. From these important developments a strong international presence of women's football leagues (both amateur, semi-professional and professional) has grown, due in no small part to organizations such as the FIFA Women's World Cup Board, the United States Professional Women's Soccer Team, and the Japanese L. League. All of these organizations and institutions were ground-breaking and led to a wider acceptance of women within football.
Although it is unfortunate, it should come as no surprise that women's football still suffers from a lack of interest despite the great work that has been done by many thousands of individuals to encourage it's growth. Even though there have been several television series and documentaries, an increase in the coverage of the women's sport in the news, and a popular movie made about women in football ('Bend It Like Beckham'), women's teams still struggle for support both financially and from the sidelines. The 2007 Women's World Cup (held in China) did gain some coverage and some of it's stars – such as Kristine Lilly (from the U.S.) and Marta Vieira da Silva (Brazil) – have become more widely recognized, but the game still has a long way to go.
|
- |
