Legendary Lionesses: The England Women’s Football Team, 1972–2022 3031367596, 9783031367595

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Legendary

LIONESSES THE ENGLAND WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM, 1972–2022

Jean Williams

Legendary Lionesses

Jean Williams

Legendary Lionesses The England Women’s Football Team, 1972–2022

Jean Williams Leicestershire, England

ISBN 978-3-031-36759-5    ISBN 978-3-031-36760-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36760-1 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Paper in this product is recyclable.

Acknowledgements

My first thanks is always to Simon for his patience, kindness and help. It is all the more so in the case of this book as Simon helped me in the early stages of this research, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when doing such work was extremely difficult. We laid the skeleton of the matches and the playing personnel together, so this really ought to be a joint authored work. There were a number of enthusiasts and amateur historians who helped, most directly Dr Colin Aldis, Dan Mooney, Rod Prescott and his family, Thornsten Frendstadt, David Hanley, and an academic curator at the National Football Museum Dr Alex Jackson. The players also assisted, as did WFA member Patricia Gregory. Thank you all. At the FA, Sarah Marshall, Rachel Pavlov, Anya Van Ginhoven, Kay Cossington, Nick Veevers and David Gerty also helped enormously. However, this is my interpretation and by no means an official publication. I do not accept that the players since 1972 are ‘official’ and the ones who came before are ‘unofficial.’ However, I’ve written about this elsewhere, and as a funded consultation was required to take an FA view. In presenting this, I do not necessarily agree with, or accept that view and I hope it changes in the future. History is all about reinterpretation after all, and is not a search for facts. With that ambivalence noted then, this is the first attempt to record all the women who have played for England. There are bound to be well-­ intentioned mistakes, as the subject matter was so difficult to obtain. I have not let the best be the enemy of the first however, from here, we will surely refine what we know. With that, Simon and I are content that we did our absolute best at the time. Shirley Garnham (now Dale) has come forwards in the public domain after the legacy cap numbers were released to say she came on as a substitute goalkeeper for the last ten minutes in a game against Iceland 17 May 1992, but I have so far no documentary evidence that she entered the field of play other than her testimony. So at the time of publication she has no legacy number. These are the kinds of minutiae the project has revealed, and tried to resolve. I’ve always tried to err on the side of the player, and was upset for Shirley to have missed her. v

Contents

1 Introduction  England Women in a New Era—The 1960s  1 Introduction   1 Methodology   3 A Brief Historical Overview   9 2 First  Eleven: From Unofficial to Official 21 Sue Buckett  33 Morag Kirkland, Now Pearce  36 Sandra Graham  37 Janet Bagguley  37 Sheila Parker MBE  38 Paddy McGroarty  40 Lynda Hale  42 Sylvia Margaret Gore MBE  43 Pat Davies  49 Jeannie Allott  50 Jean Wilson  53 Substitutes  53 Wendy Owen  53 Sue Whyatt  55 Conclusion  57 3 New  Horizons for a New England: Thomas, Bampton, Coultard, Davis, Reagan 69 Introduction  69 The Changing Context from WFA Leadership to FA Control  69 Carol Thomas BEM  81 Debbie Bampton MBE  92

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Gill Coultard  95 Kerry Davis 99 Conclusion 102 4 The  Hope Powell Era, Mary Phillip, and the Kelly Smith Effect105 Introduction 105 From Copeland to Powell 105 Hope 108 Mary Phillip 113 Kelly Smith 116 Conclusion 118 5 From  Mark Sampson to Sarina121 Introduction 121 Eni Aluko, ‘Un-Lioness Behaviour’, Race, Ethnicity, and the Sampson Era 2013–2017 121 Phil Neville 2018 125 Queen Sarina 129 Conclusion 130  Appendix A: Legacy Player Numbers Issued Wembley Stadium 7 October 2022135 Appendix B: Official England Women’s Senior Matches 1972–2022141 References159 Index165

CHAPTER 1

Introduction England Women in a New Era—The 1960s

Introduction I have been writing aspects of this book, on and off, for over 25 years. However, although I have written on globalisation, internationalisation, and professionalisation of women’s football, there has never previously been a history of the official Football Association (FA) England women’s national football team’s complete match schedule from 1972 to 2022, either academic or popular.1 The complete match schedule is contained in the appendix, along with the legacy numbers of the 227 women who have made a full debut for the England women’s senior team 1972–2022. This was research work completed just after the conclusion of the Women’s Euros 2022. It is the first time that the FA have agreed on what they consider to be official women’s matches and then agreed on who has made a full debut for the senior side. This is now freely available on the FA website.2 In November 2022, Jess Park, making her senior debut, scored in the ninetieth minute to seal her place in history, but as one of many players to do so since 1972. In fact, readers may be surprised that not more women have made a full debut. The chapters therefore do not give a match-by-match account but an overview of why this number is so low. When Mary Earps has been named FIFA’s best woman goalkeeper of 2022 at a recent event, it may prompt us to

 Jean Williams Globalising Women’s Football: Europe, Migration and Professionalization (Berlin: Peter Lang, 2013). 2  The Football Association ‘England Player Legacy and Results Archive’ https://www.englandfootball.com/england/womens-senior-team/Legacy?tab=Players accessed 8 December 2022. 1

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 J. Williams, Legendary Lionesses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36760-1_1

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reflect, who could name half a dozen of the women who have served England between the sticks since 1972?3 In scope then, I have kept wider academic footnotes and references to a minimum with a view to as wide a readership as possible. There are enough signposts I hope to explore more on women players. I haven’t assessed the scope of fandom, leadership, governance and the law, or coaching styles to any great degree as each has their own literature, which could risk diluting the focus on players, and their access to opportunities at the highest level. I hope that scholars, the general public, and historians will find rewards and that generalists will ignore the Methodology section in which I locate the manner of the research within a wider academic field of enquiry. There was no model for a book such as this, which combined statistical history of the 448 officially recognised FA senior women’s squad matches from 1972 to 2022, with oral histories to contextualise the lived experience of pioneering a sport in the midst of hostility, disdain, and marginalisation to a glorious day of joy at Wembley. The aim is to reflect on what has changed and what remains the same and therefore to ask how optimistic we can be for the future. It is also perhaps surprising that no big serious academic history of the England men’s side exists either although journalist Paul Hayward has recently completed a very healthy journalistic tome covering the period 1872–2022.4 The specific research for this book, however, has been more recent, since 2018 when I was asked to present a history of the England men’s and women’s football team to the 40-strong elite coaching directorate at the FA, including Phil Neville and Gareth Southgate, at that time the two head coaches. More recently, I worked with Sarina Wiegman, Kay Cossington, and the women’s technical team at the FA, first in 2021 and then across 2022, both very determined that this history should be part of the current success of the England women teams, and this has helped my work, including access to every surviving player since 1972, enormously. Before we get into that story specifically, a note on radical feminist methodology, and praxis in how this monograph has been approached. After this, the introduction will summarise the history of women’s football before 1960 in about 10 pages, to explain to the reader why the developments appear to be so recent. As I have covered this topic so extensively elsewhere, the milestones provide no more than a brief introduction so that those interested in scoping more detailed studies can follow up using more in-­ depth publications.

3  Louise Taylor ‘Mary Earps’ Long Road From Phil Neville Reject to World’s Best No 1’ The Guardian 5 March 2023 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/05/mary-earps-­ long-road-from-phil-neville-reject-to-worlds-best-no-1 accessed 5 March 2023. 4  Paul Hayward England Football: The Biography 1872–2022 (London: Simon and Schuster, 2022).

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Methodology The chapters combine academically rigorous resources, with innovative oral history techniques including (1) the archival holdings of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the FA, the National Football Museum, the British Library, the National Archives, and many local records offices and holdings in the UK and (2) oral histories with the players and their personal collections. Many enthusiasts have collected the Women’s Football Association (WFA) newsletters over the years, and I am indebted for their generosity in sharing with me, as I am to the players who gave time and expertise and shared their memorabilia with me. Football in the twenty-first century is a behemoth. It is global in scale. Complex. Multi-faceted and hard to distil. However, women’s football, and even more so, that of girls, has existed all its history on the periphery, as such traditional empiricist approaches to history contributed to that marginalisation. This makes much of the material usually available to historians of sport, the Minute books, and the profit and loss sheets, practically irrelevant, where they exist. Specialising in women’s sport therefore required me to use techniques like oral history, but this also grew out of my embeddedness in the subculture of women’s football. Oral history can be viewed as less ‘objective’, and therefore more subjective, and more stereotypically female, than archival empirical sources. Indeed as Joan Sangster advised in 1994, as people remember in oral histories, they lie by inclusion or omission, forget, exaggerate, make mistakes, and so forth.5 But to think the same does not happen in empirical, written, and archival sources is naïve; Minute Books are full of elisions, summaries of discussion, and so on. So there were few archival sources until relatively recently, and these have been recently accessioned, meaning that they are partial, edited, and incomplete, making oral histories integral to the process. Indeed, for those who over-rely on the archival holdings, oral histories would of course provide insights into what made it into the Minute Books, and into the profit and loss sheets, which are not in themselves innocent sources of information. I have also spent my career using whatever platform I have at various career stages, to the feminist principle to ‘give voice’, to those less privileged than I on a number of levels, mainly drawn in 1997 from my readings of feminist literature including Julia Kristeva’s influential concept of intertextuality.6 Although ambivalent about feminism, and not in accord with my own views, Kristeva looked at bodily practices, language, and the changing nature of semiotics, and symbolism. The idea that women’s football is a modified form of football is reflected in the language that we conventionally use. This is only recently changing when people use the modifier men’s football. 5  Joan Sangster ‘Telling our Stories: feminist debates and the use of oral history’ Women’s History Review 3:1 pp. 5–28 DOI: 10.1080/09612029400200046. 6  Julia Kristeva (Translation) Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art, (Columbia University Press: New York) 1980.

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Similarly, people may not initially read women’s football as a series of symbols. However, it is not that difficult. When in 2023, FIFA appointed a lingerie supermodel, Adrian Lima, to act as Global Fan Ambassador to the Women’s World Cup we might ask why she, and not a football great, like Mia Hamm, or the recently retired Brazilian veteran Formiga.7 In spite of Lima never having kicked a ball, advocating an all-liquid diet to lose weight, and having anti-­ abortion views, the choice symbolises what the world governing body thinks is an appropriate female role model for its premier women’s tournament.8 And it is not an international woman football player. To whom does Victoria’s Secret lingerie model Adrian Lima appeal? Gianni Infantino has not been able to give us that particular insight so far. The backlash from fans of women’s football also indicates what a primarily male governing body will choose to ignore. In this case, criticism after the fact. A recently announced partnership with Visit Saudi for the Women’s World Cup has also been ridiculed by most fans of women’s football, most of whom advocate for equity, inclusivity, and diversity. The Australian Local Organising Committee for 2023 has said it was not consulted, calling the decision ‘tone deaf’.9 As Gianni Infantino announced the increase of the prize money for the Women’s World Cup 2023 to $110 million, he also abandoned his Visit Saudi plans. This was another symbolic FIFA way of showing soft power, in that fans’ views are largely irrelevant so long as they purchase tickets to matches. The eye-catching increase in prize money captured most headlines, but most journalists missed the arbitrariness of the numbers.10 Why $110? If FIFA is intent upon equal prize money, as it claims, why not announce that now? So literary approaches to history, such as Stephen Greenblatt’s 1992 Marvellous Possessions: The Wonder of the New World, also raised the question of the meanings inscribed onto texts, and re-inscribed across time, freeing up ‘fixed’ interpretations to multiple readings.11 In this sense, Lima, pay differentials, and the Visit Saudi campaign, become sites of feminist contestation. It is never ‘just’ about the football.

7  FIFA ‘Adriana Lima Named As FIFA Global Fan Ambassador’ https://www.fifa.com/about-­ fifa/organisation/news/adriana-lima-named-as-fifa-global-fan-ambassador accessed 27 February 2023. 8  Siladitya Ray ‘Fallout As FIFA Appoints Supermodel Adriana Lima As Fan Ambassador Of Women’s World Cup’ Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/03/02/fallout-­ a s -­f i f a - a p p o i n t s - s u p e r m o d e l - a d r i a n a - l i m a - a s - f a n - a m b a s s a d o r- o f - w o m e n s - w o r l d -­ cup/?sh=736fc6994b37 accessed 2 March 2023. 9  Sean Ingle ‘FIFA could perform U-turn on Saudi sponsorship of Women’s World Cup’ The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/06/fifa-u-turn-saudi-sponsor ship-­­womens-world-cup-football-australia accessed 6 March 2023. 10  Samuel Agini ‘Women’s World Cup prize money triples but still lags behind men’s tournament’ The Financial Times 16 March 2023 https://www.ft.com/content/5f3e2af8-0d0c46c4-97a2-b17088590dba accessed 16 March 2023. 11  Stephen Greenblatt Marvellous Possessions: The Wonder of the New World (Chicago University Press: Chicago, 1992).

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So given this wider misogyny in the football industry, the archival sources, while privileged by the wider academic discipline of history, were not available to write about women’s football. Not least because the Football Association, formed in 1863, was not interested in women at all, except at the occasions when they threatened to invade the pitch in search of a game. The clubs of the Football League, formed in 1888 were only interested in women as streams of revenue, and potentially as accompanying male fans as part of spectacle, or as modest shareholders. So, by the time of the FA ban on women playing on affiliated pitches in 1921, which was formally rescinded in early 1970, there had been over 100 years of documented male football, showcased by an expanding print media, and consumed by an ever-growing literate public, but with financial assumptions that men remained the fiscal head of a household. Because of its peripatetic existence, such paperwork as existed on women’s football had been largely lost, discarded, or hidden in the private domain. The weight of large organisational histories, backed by endless minutes of meetings, and a male-led press, subsumed women’s football to the hidden ‘other’. However, as a player, coach, league volunteer, Chair and administrator in the 1990s, I had read enough about subcultures and cultural studies to see at regular matches and tournaments patterns of behaviour, which I had to ‘make strange to myself’ to theorise into an academic paradigm for my PhD studies. I would like to thank Dr. Donna Woodhouse for a large tranche of contemporary research materials given to me which enabled me to trace the WFA history from 1967 onwards. More often than not, systematic written sources were not compiled before 1972 because women’s football was an unregulated, peripatetic activity without a home base in which they might be collected. From such Minutes as exist, ephemera, and the tales of personal damage, and agency, endured by women who loved football, it has been possible to piece together scraps of history, and rarely have the women been recognised or rewarded, much less made to feel special for their, largely amateur, service to England. The archival holdings therefore tell only a fraction of what people have kept in their lofts, spare rooms, and under the bed. Piecing this together is a unique challenge for a historian. It is also part of the reward. This research felt less like work than a chance to rewrite a historic injustice. And a repeated and sustained injustice at that. The musician and composer Charles Hazelwood, who founded Paraorchestra and is himself something of a constructive disruptor, admired what he called my crusade to be a voice for the voiceless when we worked together at a recent coach education event. I suppose he is right. It has been a crusade. Having played, coached, Chaired leagues, played a lot of tournaments, been to many, many conferences and events over 25 years, I knew the women players to be funny, and brave and humble, just wanting a game of football. The subculture was visually evident in every game. If someone turned up wearing a bandana and yellow boots, they usually were signalling that they thought they were good. A group of very ‘butch’ South Yorkshire lesbian players treated my team

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to warm pork pies and mushy peas after an FA Cup game, many wearing tweed and corduroy in the pub, and the stories they told about their football were as lavish as the hospitality. The paradigm that has informed my work these last 20 years has been a radical feminist lens, to assess how individual and collective agency can counter, and change, large structural forces like the paternalistic, misogynistic and, as evidenced by events in 2015, corrupt football governing bodies.12 Not for me, the oft-repeated liberal feminist view that women’s football is ‘catching up’, ‘developing’, reaching a new dawn or other broadly encouraging narrative which equates to the word ‘progress’. Instead I ask, which individuals and organisations does this narrative of progress serve? To what end, are we progressing? How will we know when we get to the projected, and often unarticulated, journey’s end of all this progress? As we saw when the FA withdrew the use of its affiliated pitches from the use of women in 1921 for almost 50 years, change is not the same as progress. I would rather draw attention to continuities in the gendered governance of football and the structural effects that it has on female access to resource.13 The pioneering journalist, and feminist, Grant Wahl, ran for the Presidency of FIFA in 2011, but withdrew his campaign after failing to receive an endorsement from a national football association, which was the requirement at the time. FIFA changed its rules subsequently in the wake of Wahl’s campaign; candidates now need to be formally nominated by five football associations, not one, and have to have worked in a federation for at least two of the 5 years before the election. So many FIFA Presidents are elected unopposed even after the 2015 scandal on corruption.14 Were I, as a People’s Candidate to be appointed as the first female Head of FIFA (I’d retire the Presidential title), I would do a simple, radical thing. I would allocate the amount of money spent developing girls’ and women’s football as half the overall FIFA budget, equal with men and boys. I would set the men’s world cup prize money to exactly the same as that for women, and instigate equal pay across the organisation. Similarly, national associations would be required to pay their male and female athletes the same. For more evidence of how this has historically not been the case, readers can look at the case of England player Beth Mead, and US star Megan Rapinoe.15 I would halve the salary of those who work at FIFA and develop medical and educational charities with the resultant gain in finance, and explore the ways in 12  David Conn The Fall of the House of Fifa: how the world of football became corrupt (London: Yellow Jersey Press, 2017). 13  Jean Williams ‘The Gendered Governance of Association Football’ in Jennifer Hargreaves and Eric Andersen (eds) The Routledge Handbook of Sport, Gender and Sexuality (London: Routledge, 2014) 243. 14  Matthew Louis Bishop and Andrew F. Cooper ‘The FIFA Scandal and the Distorted Influence of Small States’ Global Governance 24: 12018 21–40. 15  Beth Mead Lioness: My Journey to Glory (London: Seven Dials, 2022); Megan Rapinoe One Life (London and New York: Penguin Press, 2020).

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which football could be used as a social good, asking each of the sponsors to match their charitable giving to this foundation compared with their commercial commitment. The resulting prize money and inducement to develop women’s football would revolutionise the attitude of national associations in terms of gender equity, and release money from the FIFA reserves, and financial portfolio to charitable use, not least for sustainability. Both the men’s world cups in Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 will not be judged kindly by history, and a major change in the social function of FIFA’s global role is long overdue. To evidence, both financially and symbolically, how the narrative of ‘progress’ actually serves FIFA’s continued discrimination against women players, the world governing body allocated £370 million in prize money for the 2022 men’s world cup in Qatar, with the winner taking away £35 million, and each qualifying side £1.2 million for getting to the finals. The Women’s World Cup of 2019 in France had an overall prize pot of $30 million (or £24.5 million), which is set to be $110 in 2023, with a further $31 million set aside to help participating nations prepare for the tournament and $11 million ring-fenced for the players’ clubs.16 This has been heralded as a major step towards equal prize money which has been set as an aspiration in 2027. However, so far the gap between male and female prize money has actually been an accelerating differential at the instigation of the world governing body of the sport. To be clear, in France 2019, twenty-four teams shared $30 million in appearance and prize money, compared to the $440 million that was allocated to the thirty-two teams in Qatar, with a further $210 million distributed in compensation to the club sides that employed the male players. And even were the commitment to the ambition Infantino announced recently be honoured in four years’ time, and I have my reservations, equal prize money is not the same as equal pay. When England won the women’s Euros in 2022 at Wembley there was a tournament pay-out of £13.7 million, whereas the men’s Euros the year before was £320 million, so less than 5% of the return that the male tournament promised.17 It is not like FIFA or UEFA is short of funds. The Qatar World Cup recorded revenues of $7.5 billion, with FIFA reserves of over £3 billion. The tension between making money, and developing world football as a sport remains one that the world governing body, which has had just nine male Presidents since its inception in 1904, remains to balance. Yet, when discouraged by yet another story of how a woman, and ally male, have had to self-­ censor, adapt, adjust, and accommodate the wider football industry, with all its insider gatekeeping behaviours and value of money over personal well-being, especially that of women and girls, I am thankfully inspired by those who have played a much larger role in changing the game. 16  Jamie Gardner ‘Fifa sets target of equal Women’s World Cup prize money by 2027’ The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/womens-world-cup-equal-prize-­­ money-men-b2302271.html accessed 16 March 2023. 17  UEFA ‘UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 financial distribution model explained’ https://www. uefa.com/insideuefa/news/026e-1391c7c31fe0-5162b5d7e881-1000%2D%2Duefa-women-s-­ euro-2022-financial-distribution-model-explained/ accessed 16 March 2023.

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Without compromising any of these convictions, I have begun to work with the FA to change their perceptions and knowledge of both male and female national team representatives. Led initially by Gareth Southgate, and accelerated by Kay Cossington and Sarina Wiegman, this is part of a broader intelligent conversation the institution is having about what representing England might mean. The original research led to the first FA reunion of the England women’s football team at Wembley during an international game with Germany in November 2019. As the consultant to the project, I researched each woman’s first and last appearance, counted the number of caps each woman won, and confirmed which matches were ‘official’ internationals and which were friendlies since 1972. The first cohort of legacy numbers and caps were awarded at the Wembley friendly won by England 2-1 over the USA in October 2022.18 The book details key aspects of the careers of 227 women who have debuted for England between November 1972 and November 2022, most recently Lauren James, Esme Morgan, Jess Park, Maya Le Tissier, and Katie Robinson. The material emphasises the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s more than the last 20 years. This is entirely deliberate, as an act of recovering those most neglected. Often young and inexperienced journalists employed by the national newspapers focus on recent stories from Fara Williams to Kelly Smith, but could not name the starting line-up in 1972. The fact that mainstream prime media trivialises women’s football by employing inexperienced journalists for national newspapers makes for very present centred content. Often involving liberal feminist arguments of ‘progress’, in these articles each new change is branded ‘historic’. This is a historical monograph countering the idea that women’s football is ‘new’ and ‘progressing’. Hence, I focus on the relatively forgotten early history of England women, such as the ‘first eleven’ chapter. This has not been compiled as a collective biography before. We have a unique opportunity to record the early stories, as many players are now in their seventies. Museum Halls of Fame are the same, only recently inducting players from the 1970s and 1980s, as opposed to the 2000s and 2010s. I explicitly resist the recent focus. There are others, goalkeepers especially, who have been part of the England squad but never awarded their first cap. These are also important individuals who deserve recognition. There has never before been this level of analysis of any national women’s football team, academic or otherwise, and the resulting work shows that England has made a pioneering contribution to women’s football globally. Women’s football has a long history, but appears to be a new phenomenon. This is nowhere more evident than in the creation of a Football Association (FA) ‘official’ England women’s football team on 18 November 1972, almost to the day a full century behind the creation of what is now considered to be the first official men’s match, although this remains contested, on 30 November 18  The Football Association ‘England Player Legacy and Results Archive’ https://www.englandfootball.com/england/womens-senior-team/Legacy?tab=Players accessed 8 December 2022.

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1872. A previous men’s match between teams labelled England and Scotland had been played in 1870, and others were considered unofficial as the Scottish FA had yet to be formed. The FA, formed in 1863, catered for clubs like Barnes, War Office (Civil Service), Crusaders, Forest (Leytonstone), No Names (Kilburn), Crystal Palace, Blackheath, Kensington School, Perceval House (Blackheath), Surbiton, Blackheath Proprietary School and Charterhouse. As an organisation, its origins were precarious, and its influence limited. Perhaps intentionally so. It was also a determinedly all-male governing body, and entirely unconcerned with the rights of women. Or perhaps too concerned with the rights of women to deal with its own institutional anxieties. So, in order to explain why the first FA women’s official team was formed in 1972, the introduction first looks briefly at the longer history of women’s football.19 This includes folk forms, and the many unofficial England matches since the nineteenth century. This is a very condensed version of events, as I have explored these issues in greater detail in previous work, which needs no repetition here.

A Brief Historical Overview Women have played ball sports since pastimes existed. There were many unregulated forms of women’s football before the establishment of the Football Association in 1863. The Football Association’s simple rules, The Laws of the Game, differentiated kicking codes from those that authorised handling the ball and hacking (tripping an opponent by kicking their shins). Conversely, other football codes such as Rugby Union, Rugby League, American Football, Australian Rules, Gaelic Football made handling the ball integral to their rules. Like many of these games, football was as much an invasion game, where a team takes the territory of the other, as a physical match. The scoring system, of placing the ball in the opponents’ net, is really a way of reinforcing the winning of the most important territory that each team defends, the goal. We have many international examples of women playing folk football, including centuries-old courtly football in China. At the National Football Museum Zibo, there are many dedicated displays covering the long and varied history of games known as Cuju (pronounced shoo-ju), and across the Americas and into Europe and Africa.20 In Cuju, over its varied history, there were women’s teams, emerging female professional players, such as Peng Xiyun, who juggled the ball with feet, head, knees, and chest, much in the same way that Freestyle champions do today. Other folk matches were reported in Scotland in Grangemouth in 1862, Pitlochry in 1868, and Hamilton in 1873. There were also Married vs. Single women’s matches. Games such as this celebrated abundance or potency, and  Jean Williams A History of Women’s Football (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2021).  Jean Williams A Game For Rough Girls: the revival of women’s football in England 1960s to present (Oxon: Routledge, 2003). 19 20

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fixtures which rejoiced in a good harvest were often called barley breaks, popular with both men and women agricultural labourers, and often linked with dancing. Here, the ball represented a seed, sown in the earth, promising prosperity. Women helped to promote football during the period when it was becoming more standardised as we think of it today as a modern codified sport, roughly between the 1840s and the mid-1860s. For instance, the Football Club de Spa in Belgium had an early patron in Sir and Lady Hunter Blair as club Patron and Patroness and their daughters as ordinary members. Women’s football began outside the control of the FA, and there is a wonderful image, dating from Harper’s Weekly in 1869, that is intriguing because it shows a fashionably dressed group of women players having a kick-around, presumably on a holiday occasion. Of course, this is not photographic evidence of women’s street football, which would be unlikely to be captured at this time, but the scene intrigued the artist sufficiently that they took the time to record it. This is a beautiful watercolour and featured as part of a larger group of images of women rowing, swimming, and playing cricket, while in the background gymnasts climb equipment and runners compete. So women’s street football, and holiday football, remains a huge area for future research. Attempts to develop women’s football were outside the regulatory control of the FA, including in 1881 as a professional entertainment, drawing paying crowds to matches staged at the increasing number of large grounds available. In April 1881, newspapers began to report that an ‘Enterprising Advertising Agent’ was going to organize a women’s football match with two teams called England and Scotland, although there was no guarantee that these would be representative sides. So the idea was to cash in on the growing international rivalry of men’s England and Scotland internationals. On 7 May 1881, at Easter Road Edinburgh, teams called England and Scotland contested a match, wearing coloured jerseys, knickerbockers, boots, and a cowl, a loose hood-type garment to cover their heads as a form of public modesty. The Glasgow Herald reported on 9 May 1881 that Scotland had won by three goals to nil, thanks to Louise Cole, Lily St Clair and the combined work of Emma Wright and Isa Stevenson. Meanwhile, The Dunfermline Journal gave a similar account but also claimed that the English team had already appeared in a previous match in Scotland, whilst the Aberdeen Weekly Journal reported over 1000 spectators at the fixture, behaving in a broadly favourable way. The England side were reported to be: May Goodwin in goal, and in defence, Mabel Hopewell and Maud Hopewell. In midfield were Maud Starling, and Ada Everston. In a generally attacking formation, typical of the time, forwards included Geraldine Vintner, Mabel Vance, Eva Davenport, Minnie Hopewell, Kate Mellon, and Nelly Sherwood. It is perhaps too much to hope that Mabel, Maud, and Minnie were a triumvirate of football-playing sisters. The Scotland team included Ethel Hay in goal, with Bella Osborne and Georgina Wright in defence. The midfield was Rose Rayman and Isa Stevenson,

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and the forwards were Emma Wright, Louise Cole, Lily St Clair, Maud Riweford, Carrie Balliol, and Minnie Brymner. It very much appears that the rather odd spelling of Riweford was typographical error because in a subsequent match she was Riverford. But this was not an entirely successful experiment. It should be noted that at the second match played at Shawfield in Glasgow, Mabel Hopewell was absent from the England team. She perhaps had the right idea. Those who did play faced a pitch invasion on 55 min from the crowd of over 5000 spectators and the match was abandoned as a nil-nil draw. At the Glasgow fixture representing England were: May Godwin, Mabel Bradbury, Maude Hopewell, Maude Starling, Ada Everston, Mabel Vance, Kate Mellor, Geraldine Ventnor, Eva Davenport, Minnie Hopewell, and Nellie Sherwood. The Scotland team comprised: Ethel Hay, Bella Osborne, Georgina Wright, Rose Raynham, Isa Stevenson, Louise Cole, Carrie Baliol, Emma Wright, Lily St Clare, Maud Riverford, and Minnie Brymner. So there was some evidence of both consistency of player personnel and of attention to formation. For more detail, this is covered in other publications listed above and here.21 For this argument, it is enough to say that Victorian women’s football was played in bifurcated garments, the knickerbockers that made it a recognisable football strip, was all the more challenging to public perception. This made football all the more challenging to public perceptions, unlike other popular team sports where women wore skirts like cricket and hockey, or individual and team sports like croquet, and tennis. Although the American Amelia Bloomer did not create the style of split skirts, later known as Bloomers, from 1851 onwards it took her name as a campaigner for women’s rights. The style, also known as reform dress, Turkish or American dress, or culottes, was important throughout the nineteenth century for the growth of women’s sports and transport, particularly cycling and equestrianism. Journalists often repeat the mistake that early players wore high-heeled boots. Many people only owned one pair of boots, or one ‘good’ pair for best and a ‘work’ pair. So few had the luxury of boots just for sport and leisure at this time. Think of all the mill workers who wore hardworking wooden clogs for their labour. The domestic economy was also different than today. The boots of the man of the house would have been particularly valuable, and more so than the footwear of women and children because the income of the household depended upon them, very often, or at least the large part because of the pay difference between men, women, and children. Women’s football players who played in matches, from the earliest days, wore more or less the same football strip as men, with boots, shin-pads, blouses, or shirts. Although you will often see photographs of women wearing caps, this was because most people appeared in public with covered heads at the time. Some of the World War I teams wore skirts, or culottes, because that is what 21  Jean Williams A Contemporary History of Women’s Sport: Part One Sporting Women 1850–1960 (New York: Routledge Research, 2014) p. 165.

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their work uniform was. Many of the early men’s teams, especially in public schools, also often covered their heads as a sign of modesty in public. And, of course, football was mainly played in the Autumn, Winter, and Spring months, when head covering would have been needed because there was less heating of public spaces. Like the theatre, which advertised its forthcoming schedule in advance, sport used new media strategies to promote itself. Another noteworthy aspect of the 1881 matches was that women’s football was topical and very widely covered by newspapers, as might be expected with links to the entertainment industry. The football industry for men was, at this time still in its infancy, and the men’s professional Football League would be formed in 1888. So although male professionals were around in 1881, their pay and conditions were the subject of covert agreements. Amateurism, playing for the love of the game, was seen to be a more pure motive but professionalism drew in the best, who wanted to be remunerated for their talent. Although we think that many Victorian women players were from working-­ class backgrounds, such as Greener’s Violets and Greener’s Cutters who played a six-a-side match on 2 February 1889, with the score 8-2 respectively, new media technologies were clearly important. An advertisement for Ivory Soap from about this time, held at the National Football Museum, also indicates that women’s and girl’s football was by this time so topical that it was used to sell products too.22 It is also important to look in specific archives, to find out more. Intriguingly, Brighton High School also recorded a girls’ team in 1894, but this doesn’t seem to have been long-lived. Why is this example significant? In the newly pioneered institutions of Further, and Higher Education for women, sport was being used to develop a collegiate spirit. This was important for field hockey particularly from 1894 when women formed their own association. But without the middle-class confidence to draw up rules, regulations, and leadership, women’s football would remain more of a working-class sport, and not set up its own governing bodies until the 1960s. Even when the Women’s Football Association was inaugurated in 1969–1970, it looked to the FA for approval, rather than going its own way. More research into the archives of individual colleges, universities, and institutions of education may well be rewarded with examples which refine our understanding of female leadership, and playing careers. The British Ladies Football Club was not formed, as the name might seem to imply, as a national representative team; if it initially represented any geographic area, it was London. The Shields Daily News of 25 March 1895 told its readers that ‘the players mainly belong to London and the suburbs but a few hail from the country’. Most were of independent means, the paper went on, but a few were married women. So, this is useful context and an early 22  Proctor and Gamble ‘Ivory Soap Advertisement’ Harper’s Magazine Advertiser November 1902 no 630).

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important club, but a minor part of our discussion of the history of England women’s international football teams. A rather intrigued but intrepid reporter who would only give his initials as SBD, wrote on page 60 of The Sketch in 1895: Miss Nettie J. Honeyball is the secretary and captain of what may be fairly described as the sporting sensation of the hour, and, if energy and enthusiasm can command success, the surely is the association already preassured of victory. As I saw her in her pretty little study in Crouch End, a thoughtful-looking young lady, with a strong personality, I at once dispelled the suspicion of burlesque that came into my mind.

Secretary, Nettie Honeyball did play in the early matches, the first of which at the Nightingale Lane ground at Crouch End (or Hornsey depending on the report), near the Alexandra Park racecourse, having been refused permission to play the first match at The Oval (The Captain of the British Ladies Football Club from a photograph by the Delmen Art Studios Ltd. Black and White 9 March 1895 p. 310). Dixie was a confident and accomplished public relations officer for the British Ladies Football Club (BLFC). She called for like-minded women to join in 1894 via The Graphic and created a great deal of anticipation before the first match, drawing a crowd of 10,000. The North vs. South game should be understood as a north vs. south London fixture, as she reported all players came from nearby.23 Honeyball was clear about the feminist nature of the BLFC, as she told SBD in the same interview: I founded the association late last year, 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, there the sexes are so widely divided, are all on the side of emancipation, and I look forward to a time when ladies may sit in Parliament and have a voice in the direction of affairs, especially those which concern them most. We live in an age of progress, and the New Woman is the latest evidence of the advancement. Anybody who had predicted the appearance of ladies “between the lines” would have been looked at more in sorrow than in anger. Yet are we already in possession of a group of fair performers styled The British Ladies’ Football Club with Lady Florence Dixie the BLFC President.

Lady Florence Dixie was an adventurer, advocate of women’s rights, and a writer. There were several foundational members of the BLFC, formed in October 1894, who did not play but supported women’s rights and Dixie was club President. Although how focused she was on football remains to be 23  The Lady Footballers South Team from a photograph by Symmons and Thiele, Chancery Lane WC.  Above: Miss Hicks, Miss Clarke, Miss A Hicks, Miss Edwards, Miss Clarence, and below: Miss Lewis, Miss Roberts, Miss Ellis The Sketch 27 March 1895 p. 445.

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confirmed, it is clear that she supported the team due to her commitment to the Rational Dress movement, as Honeyball was keen to tell SBD: There is nothing at all questionable in our costume. When Lady Florence Dixie consented to become president, she specially stipulated that, if the club were to attain its end, the girls should enter into the spirit of the game with heart and soul. “I will have nothing to do with balloon sleeves and trained skirts, and anything like that” she said “don’t court ridicule by ridiculing yourselves.” Accordingly we all have our costumes of divided skirts—a sort of blue serge knickerbocker—and the teams will be distinguished by wearing respectively, cardinal and pale blue blouses. You will detect no nervousness in the girls when they make their first public appearance. We practice twice a week.

The ex-professional player J.W. ‘Bill’ Julian, who had featured for the Royal Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, became their trainer at about the same time he retired from the less glamorous club, Dartford, and set up a sports shop in nearby Plumstead. So it is clear that the BLFC trained in the most modern techniques and tactics of their time, led by a seasoned, professional coach (Lady Football Players at Crouch End Black and White 30 March 1895 p. 442). Mrs. Helen Graham Matthews became an important leader of a breakaway team as Mrs. Graham’s XI. Of course, some of these could be assumed names. There were factions and schisms as new teams were formed in order to try and obtain new revenue streams.24 What remains from this are a series of unanswered questions. There were many penny-entrepreneurs in Late Victorian England, so where did the BLFC, money go, and that from related teams? Who were the playing personnel, and how did football fit into their wider pattern of employment and life-course? We know Nettie Honeyball was a pseudonym, how far was she a figurehead, and how far a lead entrepreneur? The reason why the BLFC is significant to the wider discussion of this book is that the teams it played against were important across the British Isles. Altogether, between 1894–1895 and 1902–1993, these teams played over 166 fixtures, as well as practice matches, widely covering the whole of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Most were played on significant grounds in front of a paying public to raise as much money as possible. Again, this was an emerging professional formula for women’s football, often run by, and led by, women. It is also worth exploring very brief references in that women were often small-time holders of shares in their local clubs, as well as professional clubs, and this could be explored more as part of their role within the wider football industry at this time.25 Finally too, it is worth saying that women-led businesses surrounded the growth of the expanding football industry from clothing 24  Mrs. Graham Captain of the Lady Footballers photo of Cobb and Keir Woolwich The Sketch 28 October 1895 p. 722. 25  Tony Mason Association Football and English Society 1863–1915 (Brighton: Harvester, 1980) p. 15.

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s­ upplies, and food and drink establishments, to the links with military insignia, buttons, badges, and caps. While there is often an assumption that football was a man’s game, it was dependent upon a wide network of interconnected trades, and specialisms that relied upon both a female workforce and women’s entrepreneurial ingenuity. Increasingly in the BLFC business model, and its many offspring teams, mixed matches of men’s teams playing women’s squads became the lucrative draw, and were the biggest earners. By 1902, the women’s vs. men’s matches drew some of the largest crowds, leading to the FA ruling that men and women should not compete against each other. It was the first such FA prohibition on the women’s game, but it would not be the last. Before World War I, most young women worked in service, meaning that they lived in the homes of other people and worked as servants. Others worked in mills and factories often with long shifts, and then had a ‘double day’ of working when they got home cleaning, cooking, washing, and other manual jobs, on top of looking after children. Little time then for personal leisure. This changed dramatically in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I. When compulsory conscription meant that most able-bodied young men went to war, women moved into traditionally male jobs and received better pay. With these, often dangerous, and better-paid jobs came camaraderie with other women and the men left behind in protected occupations, and a right to leisure outside the home. As a game requiring team spirit, and a sign of normality on the home front, football proved to be popular and topical. But this should not be overstated and what appears as a gap in the chronology may indicate the need for more careful localised and national research. Globally, women’s and girls’ teams were formed, although not always sustained before 1914. Internationally, in Australia, New South Wales (NSW) women’s football teams sprang up in Parramatta in 1903 and Candelo in 1908. In Belgium, by 1911, a match was reported between the Convent L’Assumption à Huy in Namur and Liege L’Ecole Formation d’Uccle—football one of many sports contested between the colleges. In France, it seems the Equipe Du Groupe Sportif de l’Ecole Supérieure des filles Pont-à-Mousson played a match against Meurthe-et-Moselle in 1910, and a year later, En Avant! played Femina in Paris. There are brief reports in Chile and in Russia, before World War I. While in Spain, El ‘Spanish Girls’ Giralda vs. Montserrat toured Catalonia and played at FC Barcelona ground Parc Brú Sanz in 1914 before the outbreak of war.26 At the outbreak of War, many young men volunteered through their local football clubs and formed Footballer’s Battalions when on active service. It quickly became evident that the men would not be home by Christmas, as has been forecast in 1914, so women moved increasingly into dangerous occupations, such as munitions, manufacturing and mechanics, as well as traditional 26  The FIFA World Football Museum FIFA Women’s World Cup Official History (London: Carlton, 2019) p. 35.

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female work like communications, nursing, and factories. The business model of women’s football, although played for charity, mirrored that of men’s football such as drawing large paying crowds through advance publicity, playing games in large stadia and therefore maximizing the sums of earned money for charitable good causes. These were very much clubs of whom the local civic community was proud. Many of the early women’s games during World War I were played to raise charitable funds for wounded soldiers, or for those suffering from trauma, and many matches were played against recovering male soldiers, such as the ‘War Time Football in Surrey Playing Fields’ match report in The War Illustrated (21 July 1917, 489) from the game below: Smartly saved by the ladies’ goalkeeper, and (right) an incident in the game. The soldiers were handicapped by having their hands fastened behind them, all except the goalkeeper, who was allowed one free hand. Ladies vs. soldiers in a “Soccer” match at Haslemere. Watching the spin of the coin and (left) one of the ladies has just missed “header.” The ladies won. The match took place in aid of Red Cross funds.

Again, since this book is about England internationals, the whole of this period is not covered in detail, but there remain about 150 women’s teams across the whole of the UK to study. To keep the focus on our topic, one team, Dick, Kerr Ladies of Preston developed into a de facto England team to play France, with a few additional players scouted in, by 1920. The Dick, Kerr’s women’s team played first against male colleagues during tea breaks at the munitions factory, but the format developed into women’s matches for charitable purposes, a pattern which lasted until the women’s team disbanded in 1965. Deepdale ground was granted by the Preston committee on 30 October 1917 for a game against T. Coulthard and Co. Ltd. munitions workers to be played on Christmas Day. The game raised £488 7 shillings for the Moor Park Hospital. The Lancashire Daily Post match report on 27 December 1917 said of Dick, Kerr’s 4-0 victory: ‘Quite a number of their shots at goal would not have disgraced a regular professional except in direction, and even professionals have been known on occasion to be a trifle wide of the target. Their forward work, indeed was often surprisingly good.’ After matches in 1918 and 1919, Dick Kerr’s invited Alive Milliat of the Federation des Societies Feminine Sportives de France to play a game in Preston. French teams at the time included Femina of Paris, Rheims, Marseille, and Toulouse from which a representative international squad was selected. Arriving on 28 April 1920, Alice Trotmann and Madeline Bracquemond were the leading attackers with Genevieve Laloz. Trotmann was English speaking, as her mother came from Leeds; Bracquemond was the team captain, and shorthand typist by profession, while Laloz (also spelled in some reports at Lalas), was a machine worker. Carmen Pomies, a dental student, also shone in midfield, while the goalkeeper Louise Ourry had her work cut out. Others

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listed only by surname included: Rigal (dressmaker); Rinbaaux (shorthand typist); Brule (shorthand typist); Delpierre (student of philosophy); Billac (bookkeeper); Patuneau (dressmaker) and Madame Leveque, the only married player of the team. The French team wore light blue jerseys and berets. Dick, Kerr played in black-and-white stripes. The four France vs. England internationals received media coverage around the world in print and on film and inspired many more internationals. The kiss between the captains before kick-off of one of the games was in particular widely mediated. The author calls this ‘The Kiss that Went Around the World’ because it was so widely mediated. This topicality showed that women’s football could capture the hearts, and finances, of tens of thousands of football fans in regular matches, often kicked off by the entertainment stars of the day like French Heavyweight World Champion boxer ‘Gorgeous’ George Carpentier, captured on Pathé newsreels. On 30 April 1920, 25,000 spectators saw Dick, Kerr, as England beat France 2-0 at Preston North End’s Deepdale stadium, with goals from Florrie Redford and Jennie Harris. In total, £1295 was raised for the ex-serviceman’s fund. Lily Lee sustained injury, as did Molly Walker, in a tightly contested game. On 1 May 1920, 15,000 spectators saw the re-match at Edgeley Park, Stockport with five goals for England: Florrie Redford 2, Jennie Harris, Jessie Walmsley, and Alice Woods. The two goal scorers for France were Genevieve Laloz and Madeline Braquemond (Dick, Kerr Ladies illustrated reporter: ‘Ladies at Football England v France by a Special Correspondent’ The Times 7 May 1920). On 5 May 1920, at Hyde Road Park Manchester, 15,000 spectators witnessed England draw with France 1-1. Moving to Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC in London, 10,000 spectators saw the quickly improving French team win 2-1. Jennie Harris was knocked unconscious, and a 10 woman Dick, Kerr’s scored an own goal, and made a basic keeping error before scoring a consolation goal. Both teams were treated to a reception at the Mansion House by the Lord Mayor of London. Over £3000 had been raised across these matches. It was a little too early for the great goal-scoring left-winger Lily Parr, who would join the team soon after as a 15-year-old and get to enjoy the return tour in France. In what is thought to be the first overseas tour, and so a form of early representative international for an English team, the 16-player Dick, Kerr squad who went to France on 28 October 1920 were: Daisy Clayton, Annie Crozier, Jennie Harris, Florrie Haslam, Annie Hastie, Sally Hulme, Emily Jones, Lily Jones, Alice Kell, Lily Lee, Minnie Lyons, Lily Parr, Florrie Redford, Mollie Walker, Jessie Walmsley, and Alice Woods. The French journalist, André Glarner covered matches in France in the Autumn of 1920 for Le Miroir Des Sports. Glarner opined: ‘The match between a French team and English team was played in front of ten thousand spectators and proved a real success. Each team scored a goal for their particular efforts; the English team showed their superiority for the most part by controlling possession. And the French used speed and stamina. Is it practical to expect

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women’s football across all cities in France? The public on Sunday, who were equally passionate to meet at the Stade Pershing as they would be a male match, who encouraged, applauded, whistled and generally engaged, proves the interest in women’s sport.’ The match in Paris, at the Stade Pershing, was a 1-1 draw, abandoned with 5 min to go when the referee gave a controversial corner to Dick, Kerr’s and the 22,000 strong crowd disagreed, invading the pitch. Minnie, or Mary, Lyons was the England scorer, and star of the game, featuring on the cover of Le Miroir Des Sports (Anon. ‘Une Joueuse Anglaise, Lyons, Shoote au Cours Du Martch Feminin Franco Anglais de Football’ Le Mirroir Des Sports 4 November 1920 p. 1 and p. 288). The match in Roubaix was staged at Parc Jean Dubrulle, attended by 16,000 fans, and won 2-0, both goals from Florrie Redford. At Le Havre, just 10,000 spectators attended, to see a 6-0 win by Dick, Kerr’s, and in the last match, in Rouen, 14,000 witnessed a 2-0 win by the English team. These matches would be played until the 1950s, and, without going into them all here, as Dick, Kerr was essentially a club side, this innovation would lay the ground for other club teams to tour overseas as effectively representing England. This continued with home internationals, playing Scotland in Glasgow on 1 March 1921, and again on 2 March in Edinburgh, winning both matches 9 and 13 goals respectively, without conceding. In April, at a tie in Kilmarnock, the score-line narrowed to 7-1. A match against the French followed in Staffordshire, on 17 May, effectively won by Lily Parr who scored all five goals in a 5-1 victory. This made national news headlines. Longton Park, Stoke, saw a crowd of 15,000 and The Daily Mirror had two photographs of striker Lily Parr. The first caption accompanied an action shot of Parr ‘Beating the French goalkeeper for the fifth time’ and the second showed team mates ‘Chairing Miss L Parr after the match. She scored all five goals’ (The Daily Mirror 18 May 1921 p. 8). Soon after, the first games against Wales took place in Nottingham and Crewe. Dick, Kerr also played Wales (described in the programme as a representative team) on 21 September 1921, followed by a banquet at the Blackpool Trocadero, so the players were used to being feted as celebrities as a result of their efforts. Indeed, the great French player, Carmen Pommies, who had come over to Preston played for England, alongside Lily Parr, Alice Kell, and Alice Mills. It was an attacking line-up with five forwards, three in midfield, and two defenders. Wales’ starting lineup was no less attacking with five forwards, three from Newport, F. Grffiths, O. Griffiths, and Miss R. Dix, along with A. Bay from Swansea and Miss Pitts of Cardiff. The midfield comprised Miss Orborn of Cardiff, Griffiths Jones of Baldwins, and Miss Langford of Bargœd. The defenders, D. Lewis and L. Lewis may, or may not, have been related as their club sides were Newport and Baldwins respectively, while the goalkeeper Miss Lamphrey, hailed from Cardiff. Wales were managed by W.H. Ferris, and trained by T. Mincher (Ladies Grand International Football

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Match England and Wales Programme, in Aid of the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, Blackpool 21 September 1921). Matches in Belfast in October 1921 meant that a form of representative women’s team from across the British Isles had played one another by the time of the FA ban on women playing on FA-affiliated pitches on 5 December 1921. It is important to note that the Scottish FA, the FA of Wales, the Irish FA based in Belfast, and the Football Association of the Republic of Ireland each responded to this ban slightly differently, and acted at different times. Rather suddenly, the FA announced that it was prohibiting women from playing football on Association-affiliated grounds from 5 December 1921. The FA ruled that too much money had been absorbed in expenses and not donated to charity, and the game was ‘unsuitable’ for women. This meant that the large Football League grounds, which had been used to collect gate receipts were not available. Other sports, such as rugby, cricket, and general leisure facilities were put under pressure not to host women’s teams. It moved women’s football literally to the periphery. The censure meant that women’s football looked unspectacular. The ban would be in place, so far as the FA was concerned until 1969, and incrementally so, into 1970 and 1971. This is the main reason that there was no official women’s England team until 1972. Following the ban, some medical opinion held that football was too vigorous a game and affected women ‘internally’. Exhibition games sought to question the ban, for example, Lyon’s Ladies ‘performed’ for 30 members of the press at Sudbury on 13 December 1921. Alfred Frankland, manager of Dick, Kerr Ladies, then invited twenty-plus doctors to watch a Dick, Kerr game on Boxing Day 1921, where the suitability of the sport was deemed by one reporter as no more taxing than a day’s heavy washing or work. The ban was contested, but the FA was globally influential in 1921. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) was, and still is, the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football across the world. IFAB was founded in 1886 to agree on standardised Laws for international competition and has since acted as the guardian of the internationally used Laws. Since the four British Associations had great influence on the international rules board of FIFA, the ban had worldwide repercussions, especially when other sports like rugby union football joined in and did not let women play on their grounds. No women’s football clubs until this point had earned money primarily for their own existence. The majority had dedicated their performances to charity and civic improvement. Put simply, none had the money to buy their own ground or club when the ban took place. So, given this, they had to look for support away from the football authorities. The idea of a ban was more influential than the act of enforcing it in Britain, and across the world. In some countries, there was no ban, in others the ban extended to a legal ruling. This is not to say that between 1921 and 1972 is a fundamental discontinuity but merely to contextualise why there was no

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official England women’s football team until November 1972. Women’s football did not go away as an amateur enthusiasm, but there was no profession to which women might aspire. This began to change in the 1950s and 1960s, as women’s position in society changed. Having examined why there was not an ‘official’ FA England team, we have summarised the pioneers from 1881 to 1921. Next we will discover how the Women’s Football Association was formed in 1969, who were the key personalities, and on what basis the WFA was affiliated to the FA. We will also explore FIFA and UEFA policy towards women’s football and how that changed from exclusion to a reluctant inclusion which acknowledged the game while also simultaneously stifling a professional future for the women’s game.

CHAPTER 2

First Eleven: From Unofficial to Official

The aim of this chapter is to show the change in women’s football as an unregulated activity, to become increasingly under the control of a governing body called the Women’s Football Association (WFA) in 1969. Thereafter, the nascent governing body struggled with infighting and lack of money before the first England team was formed, and played in 1972. The chapter also covers a collective biography of those important pioneer players and their coach, Eric Worthington. All oral histories were conducted with players, except for the case of Sylvia Gore, who died some years ago. So how did the WFA come to be founded? The FA Council repeatedly reinforced the ban on women playing on FA-affiliated grounds and said that it considered football unsuitable for women, most noticeably in 1946. Individuals learned of the FA ban, as they came into organised football and met with the full force of a century of FA male entitlement. Jeannie Allott, the blonde striker who would go on to score England’s third goal in their 3-2 victory over Scotland in the first international told me that she was banned from playing for the school team, aged just eight. Born in 1956, she was told in 1964 that girls’ football was not allowed, although her headmaster initially informed her of this, and then appeared to relent by ignoring the ruling. She played on until she moved schools. This was highly unusual. Most girls played outside of the education system, and some did not take up football until they were young women. Conspicuously, writing 90 years after the FA had been formed, the official historian of the FA, Geoffrey Green, was able to dismiss women players as a rather irritating blight on the game of football, as detestable as gambling, commercialism, and cheating, saying: ‘There now remain a few subjects upon which the FA have taken a definite stand from the beginning and remained unwavering in their attitude towards them.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 J. Williams, Legendary Lionesses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36760-1_2

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Amongst these may be counted Women’s Football, Greyhound Racing, Betting and Rough Play (sic).’1 However, marginal space is still a useful space and the prohibition was not enshrined in law. So the lack of any regulation by the sports governing bodies enabled a great deal of self-determination by women players and those who would support them. Historians of sport, particularly women’s sport are familiar with women circumventing tradition, existing moral codes, and societal norms, for instance, nineteenth-century women climbers and mountaineers who wore conventional clothing including skirts to the snow-line, and then, when out of sight of binoculars and spotting scopes, changed into more athletic wear and socialised in huts higher up the mountain. Here, agency allowed women to do as they liked. Women’s football shared these same liminal spaces of changing rooms, coaches or cars to matches, staying overnight in various homes of other players, or B&Bs, or more rarely hotels. Women had more access to the telephone, to telegrams, to media and the press, so they exploited these systems of communication to connect, plan, and arrange matches. There was very little that the FA could do about this, other than decline the use of pitches, and so a simple game of football became a gender-based act of logistical rebellion. In this sense, marginalised as it was, football became a neglected space in which women could find one another in teams and clubs, and self-determine the culture of what they did. Male allies who thought the FA attitude misogynistic were always important, and could be a very diverse group, not just relatives and friends, but those with a social conscience. Businessmen also saw the potential of an unregulated market for football at about the same time that the whole football industry was changing. This was twofold, firstly with Jimmy Hill’s victory as Chair of the Professional Footballer’s Association in January 1961 when the Football League’s maximum wage ruling cap of £20 per week was overturned, allowing his team mate Johnny Haynes to become the first £100 a week player for Fulham. Furthermore, in 1963, the retain-and-transfer system which applied to male professionals in the Football League, was ruled by the High Court as an unjustifiable restraint of trade. What this meant for the individual male footballer was that an FA registration system restriction that had existed since 1893 preventing players from transferring from one Football League club to another without the approval of his current club had been removed.2 This had prevented players from owning their own labour and being able to seek better terms. While the George Eastham case against Newcastle United, backed by the Professional Footballer’s Association undid the ‘retain’ aspect, allowing him to go to Arsenal for £47,500, the transfer elements would largely remain unchanged until the advent of the Bosman case in 1995, and later the Webster ruling in 2008.3  Geoffrey Green The History of the Football Association (London: The Naldrett Press, 1953) p. 35.  Gary Imlach My Father And Other Working Class Football Heroes (London: Yellow Jersey, 2005). 3  George Eastham Determined to Win: Arsenal FC and England (London: Stanley Paul, 1964). 1 2

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Even so, in the 1960s, male player power was on the rise from being considered a mainly manual occupation, and football was becoming more widely mediated through new forms of more widely available media, often free to air, or relatively cheap, at a time of rising incomes. This had begun in 1958 when England captain Billy Wright married pop star Joy Beverley, and in 1959 achieved the accolade of becoming the first man to win 100 caps for his country, linking popular culture, stardom and football. Bobby Moore took up the mantle, as did George Best and other icons in the 1960s. Though the 1960s didn’t swing for everyone at the same speed in Britain as it did for the metropolitan elite in London and Carnaby Street, it did sway enough that women footballers were willing to defy the FA. Just as women football players, although overwhelmingly amateur, could see their male professional heroes becoming figures of aspiration, and social climbing, they used their football to make statements about the lifestyle they aspired to for themselves. It may have been a relatively low-key revolution, but they had the bravery to imagine for themselves, ‘why not?’ It is important to note that this was international in scope, and it is worth covering some of the international connectivity here, to contextualise what happened in forming a national England women’s team. Writing from his home, 95 College Road, Deal, Kent on 11 August 1969, Arthur Hobbs informed the newly formed Women’s Football Association (WFA) membership that a full meeting of the association would ratify the draft constitution and elect the officers at the Tudor Room Caxton Hall London.4 Two representatives per club were allowed to attend. This was no overnight initiative. Previously, Hobbs had given up his FA rights, to start organising women’s football matches in the Deal area in 1965–66. In 1967, an eight-team tournament took part in an inaugural tournament with Dover GPO the victors. By the time the Manchester Corinthians won the second tournament in 1968, the event had grown to 32 teams. By 1969, 47 teams, including from Scotland and Czechoslovakia, constituted an international tournament, with Corinthians retaining the trophy by overcoming Cambuslang Hooverettes 2-0 in the final. At a meeting at the Deal Town Hall, attending teams were invited to become Life Membership Members of The Ladies Football Association of Great Britain. Having written to Denis Howell, the Minister for Sport, on 25 May 1969, and been rebuffed with a reply that the government did not involve itself directly with governing bodies, Hobbs persevered with plans to form a female-specific football governing body for the UK.  This international connectivity was significant in forming the emergent WFA in 1969 and 1970, with attendant infrastructures, policies, and a constitution.

4  WFA Minutes The Ladies Football Association of Great Britain circular letter 11 August 1969 author’s collection.

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On 13 December 1969, 31 January, and 4 April 1970, the steering committee of stalwart amateur enthusiasts had met to finalise the draft constitution.5 Originally proposed as the Ladies Football Association of Great Britain, Olive Newsome of the Central Council of Physical Recreation, (the CCPR), suggested that Ladies was perhaps too arcane a term and that a Women’s Football Association (WFA) was more in line with second-wave feminism. But second-­ wave feminism was being bitterly contested at the time. For example, Patricia Dunn of the Weymaids club, from Weymouth in Dorset, was the President of the WFA and Arthur Hobbs was the organising secretary. The rest of the committee comprised Brenda Hambridge of Dagenham, Essex; Harry Batt of Luton, Bedfordshire; Bryn Poynes of Worcester; Patricia Gregory of London; Sue Lopez of Southampton; Flo Bilton of Hull; Pat Gwynne from Leamington Spa; Ron Hyde from Swindon, Gladys Aiken of Manchester; Gwenda Foreman of Northamptonshire; Brenda Burlinson of Kent; Len Day of Maidenhead; Mr. Doodle of Hull; June Jaycocks of Brighton; and Mrs. Bruton from Worcestershire. All of the above had attended all three meetings. Given the voluntary nature of the enterprise, it is perhaps understandable that the Scots’ representatives, Ann McBride of Cambuslang Hooverettes, and Dympra Mulligan of Hamilton had only attended one meeting, as had Len Piner of Ramsgate, and Eric Aldersay of Sandbach Cheshire. A door-keeper, Mrs. Hambridge, had also sat in, as had Olive Newsome, the Principal Executive Officer of the Central Council of Physical Recreation, from whom funding would sought. Leslie Huckfield MP lent his support. It is important for what follows to understand the parameters of the WFA’s ambitions and remit. There was no money, but plenty of opinion. The WFA main stated aims were: ‘The object of the Association shall be to promote and develop the game of Association Football for Women; to organize international matches and any competitions or events likely to further the interests of football for women; to foster friendly relations between players of all countries. However, any club proposing to tour outside the British Isles must first obtain the permission of the Executive Committee.’ So there was an uneasy friendship in football, but at a price. There were precise rulings that ‘clubs given permission to tour should do so under their own name whether or not their team is augmented by other players, and not adopt titles deemed to be misleading, such as “an England XI” unless special permission has been given by the Executive Committee.’ At the same time clubs were obliged to make their players available for any WFA representative teams that the Association may select in future. There were no plans in 1969 and 1970 for an official England XI to be pulled together.6

5  WFA Minutes Draft Constitution of the Women’s Football Association undated, author’s collection. 6  WFA Minutes Full Meeting to Ratify the Constitution Caxton Hall London 6 June 1970 p. 1, author’s collection.

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In reinforcing such rules, the WFA declared in rule 5: ‘By a ¾ majority of its total membership, the Executive Committee shall have the power to cancel the membership of any member if, in its opinion, such membership is injurious to the interests of the Association: any membership so cancelled shall have the right of appeal to a general meeting.’ This Executive Committee would be constituted by a President, a Vice President, Honorary Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurers, and one representative of each league, plus ad hoc invited members. Along with relative subscription costs of £2 for clubs and Associate members, with leagues affiliated for 5 shillings, the organisation declared that it would ‘control and assist football matches organized by individuals in Great Britain for which approval of the Executive Committee has been sought beforehand. No member of the Association will take part in or assist in any way a women’s football game, the organization of which has not been sanctioned by the committee.’ Furthermore, no official or registered referee could take part in a match in which an unaffiliated club was playing. So the WFA were clearly demarking their territory and were inclined to issue prohibitions and bans generously in policing their boundaries. The Women’s FA 1970 International tournament schedule of matches had also been drawn. Most of the teams competing on 14 June were from Kent (Aylesham, Deal and Betteshanger UTD, Medway, Gillingham) and London (Spurs Ladies, Edgware), with Luton from Bedfordshire, Birmingham City, and Southampton from Hampshire. Completing the fixtures were Newbury and Windsor Rovers from Berkshire and Swindon Spitfires from Wiltshire. A similar southern-based pattern of teams followed on 21 June, with Sussex featuring Rye and Brighton GPO, Keresley and Bedworth Rangers from Warwickshire, and Kays Ladies from Worcestershire, taking part alongside Ipswich. Not all were regionally based teams, as the National Westminster Bank sent a first and a second team, with the Canterbury branch competing on the next weekend, as did Hellingly Hospital of Sussex. The Bantam Ladies of Coventry seem to have been the most northern side, while Bosom Buddies UTD of South Ockendon in Essex surely had the best name. That said, TJ Koh-i-Noor, from Ceske Budejovice Czechoslovakia, and EZDVV Kapelle Biezelings of the Netherlands were the most unusual. It is a shame that Rainbow Dazzlers of Burton on Trent did not enter though. Both Manchester Corinthians and Cambuslang Hooverettes, last year’s finalists, were given a bye through to finals day, as were the other Scottish teams, Westhorn United and Stewarton and Thistle, and English rivals, Fodens from Sandbach and Manchester Nomads. All very strong teams who would have made it through the early rounds in all likelihood. So the draw seems designed to encourage participation and to give experience to less well-known teams. However, on 6 June 1970, a WFA meeting reported that Fodens had gone beyond the pale by entering the Butlin’s tournament instead of the Deal international, and Manchester Corinthians could not afford the journey to Deal to defend their title, hence having chosen to go to France instead, presumably at

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least part of their journey being subsidised by their hosts. So, in what was to be a trademark of bureaucracy over sports development, clubs were advised that the Butlin’s tournament, hosted by the popular holiday resort chain, had not responded to requests to affiliate to the WFA, so clubs were actively discouraged to attend, and this was minuted in bold, underlined text.7 The WFA was ambitious. They began by co-opting as Vice Presidents, Conservative MP Charles Morrison, Labour’s David Ennals, and somewhat surprisingly now, given his controversial political career, for the Liberal Democrats, Jeremy Thorpe, who had somewhat deferred the issue by saying he would select someone as yet unidentified to help. There were proposals to ask the Princess Royal to be Patron and, as President Princess Alexandria. In the meantime, H.G.  Van Suijlekom of Kapelle-Biezlinge, the Netherlands was invited to take his place as Vice President. Factions of the WFA could also be ruthless. On 1 August 1970, the meeting debated the need for Pat Dunn to stand down as Chair. Having asked in private, Arthur Hobbs now made it clear to the meeting that he considered that Dunn had: clashed with the FA in the past, and that she was in a way in their ‘bad books.’ As Chairman of the WFA she reflected a bad image to the various sports manufacturers, and other people willing to help the WFA and sponsor competitions etc. He said we must prove that we are responsible, well organized association, capable of working in harmony with the FA to obtain the benefit of sponsorship, and any other help that might come our way. These offers of sponsorship and cooperation that had been received were now in jeopardy because these people did not want to deal with an association whose Chairman had ‘upset’ the FA.8

Furthermore, he alleged that Dunn had been part of an illegal organisation, the rather respectable sounding Hull Sunday Referee’s Association, and no FA correspondence had been received since she had been appointed in June. Anxious to protect his source at the FA, Hobbs could not provide precise evidence, and the motion fell. But Hobbs’ financial influence amplified his personal drive. The Deal Tournament had added £18, 17 shillings and 3 d to a WFA bank account total of £76.2 shillings and 9 d. By the next meeting on 3 October, Dunn had stood down as Chair in favour of Pat Gwynne, also a referee, but who had the advantage of being male, and having not upset the FA. Yet. There were worse things for the WFA to consider than being a female referee or going to Butlins. Also at the same meeting on 1 August 1970, another ban was proposed, but this seemed to be very personal, rather than as a basic principal. Harry Batt had been a challenge since the WFA was formed, when he had taken a touring team out to Czechoslovakia in 1969 as representatives of the South East of England League (SEEL), and had been required to pay £50  WFA Minutes First WFA General Meeting Caxton Hall 6 June 1970 p. 1, author’s collection.  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Caxton Hall 1 August 1970 p.  1, author’s collection. 7 8

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to the bus company, Golden Miller Coaches, out of his own pocket, which for reasons of ill health he was initially unable to do. This caused both the league and Harry some embarrassment, but the draconian response was a motion by David Hunt of the SEEL to seek to ban Batt and his wife, June, from all further women’s football activities. The trip had begun amicably enough but since everyone was self-funding to some degree, Batt had clearly not expected to have to pay for the coach at his own expense on the salary of a bus driver. Pooling of fares, as the process was called, meant that the total cost of an event was distributed according to a person’s income, with students and those still in education paying least. Maybe the tour party thought that as a bus driver Harry could get discounted fares, but £50 was a considerable sum in 1969, let alone the language assistance that Batt, who had fought in the Spanish Civil War and was multilingual, provided. David Hunt, a member of the South East league lobbied the WFA to ban Harry from all its activities unsuccessfully even before an Executive Committee was formed. Resourceful, resolute, and personally committed to the international development of women’s football, Batt evaded the South East of England League’s ban by becoming the representative of the Northampton League which allowed him to attend WFA Executive meetings. Having taken a team to the Federation of Independent European Female Football (FIEFF), known also in French as Fédération Internationale Européenne de Football Féminine, European championship in 1969, Batt had been allowed to accept an invitation to the World Cup in Italy in 1970 captained by Joan Briggs. Essentially Chiltern Valley, Batt’s club side, with some guest players, the WFA considered that this team represented England but was by no means an ‘England Team’. This syntactical nuance was lost on the press who called them England. Arthur Hobbs, not an internationalist on the scale of Batt, was incensed and tried to correct the media who seemed mystified that an organisation would send a ‘representative team’, as Hobbs conceded they were, without considering them to be England. Batt was accused in December 1970 of ‘luring players’ from other teams with a promise of being in the next England team, and of calling himself England manager on letter-headed paper that he had commissioned. Clearly, Hobbs felt snubbed by FIEFF’s connection with Batt, and particularly connections like France’s Pierre Stuby and Marco Rambaudi, a furniture magnate who owned the Real Tornio women’s team.9 On 5 June 1971, the meeting ruled that any team or organisation associated with Harry and June Batt would not be affiliated to the WFA. David Hunt proposed this motion, and Mrs. Fuller seconded the motion which carried 30 votes. Arthur Hobbs had by now stood down to become an honorary life member of the WFA due to ill health. More explicitly, on 21 August 1971, the WFA Minutes recorded a broader ruling that any member or official of a team

9  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Caxton Hall 12 December 1970 p. 1, author’s collection.

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run by Mr. and Mrs. Batt applying for membership of a club affiliated to the WFA shall be the subject of a decision by the Executive Committee. Batt had taken the British Independents team to the larger Mexico World Cup in 1971, for which he and June would be banned for life from any women’s football activity by the WFA. Again, although the team were officially called British Independents, the press called them England. Unable to put that particular media genie back in its bottle, Hobbs became jealous of Batt’s entrepreneurialism, and the ‘official’ England team was formed in 1972. It was to play one match that year. Batt took another team out to Italy in 1972, but by then a FIFA conference was held in the next valley, requiring newly formed women’s national associations such as the WFA, or newly formed committees in extant national associations to choose whether to support FIEFF or FIFA. Given FIFA’s historical authority, having been formed in 1904, and global reach, financed by men’s World Cups since 1930, FIEFF eventually gave way and Harry Batt was cast out of women’s football.10 Even when there was a campaign to reinstate him and June, a special sub-committee held to commute his lifetime ban to 5 years, the meeting voted 10 to 4 to decline compassion, with one abstention.11 The WFA was a conservative and deeply divided group, even to the extent of the WFA declining to hold its own world cup at Wembley in either 1972 or 1973, with the casting vote given to a Scottish representative who told me she turned it down because she didn’t think Scotland would do very well.12 Arthur Hobbs disagreed, and the WFA was again defined by infighting. Viner’s cutlery would have sponsored the event, and so a chance was missed. March 1973 saw the first UEFA women’s committee meeting in Zurich, and unlike the enterprising Harry Batt and others, the little men, and women, in grey suits who populate football boardrooms decided it was too soon for a major competition.13 The next major tournament to be hosted by the WFA was the second leg of the inaugural women’s Euros in 1984 and it was marked by an absence of spectacle, apart from the state of the pitch. And internationals remained contentious. A Southampton visit to the USA from 2 to 16 September was judged a success, although the Italian rivals, Roma were accused of attempting to poach players and there were stern warnings against professionalisation.14 Anyone who has run a football club, league, or other governing body will recognise the factionalism, infighting, and bitterness that comes with the voluntary, amateur organisations on which much grassroots football in the UK depends. The FA at this time provided no money to support the WFA, which was reliant upon the Central Council for Physical Recreation, which only funded amateur sport. When Joan Briggs was offered a small BBC honorarium  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Caxton Hall 14 October 1972 pp. 3–4.  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Church House 2 December 1972 pp. 5–6. 12  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Church House 12 February 1972 p. 4. 13  UEFA Meeting Women’s Football Minutes 22 March 1973, Zurich p. 2, author’s collection. 14  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Caxton Hall 9 October 1971 p.  1 author’s collection. 10 11

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for talking about her Italian experiences, she was told to decline it, lest it make the whole WFA fall foul of the amateur funding rules. Joan continued to support the WFA though. Given this rather stormy context for the creation of the first official England women’s team in 1972, who were they, and how were they formed? There had been an attempt to form an England vs. Scotland five-a-side match on 4 November 1970 at The Daily Express National Five-a-Side Tournament at Wembley, but due to the expense of bringing down the Scots, and for lack of money for hotel rooms, this did not take place. Instead, Manchester Corinthians played Southampton, the latter winning by a single late goal. Sir Stanley Rous, Secretary of the FA from 1934 to 1962, and FIFA President from 1961 to 1974, was presented to both teams. On 3 April, the question of a national team was raised, and postponed.15 Instead, Mitre, the sporting goods manufacturer, agreed to sponsor the annual WFA cup competition for member clubs, and to donate a match ball, known thereafter as the Mitre FA Cup. Given the state of WFA finances, where there were discussions of asking the referees of the WFA Mitre Cup competition to donate their fees to the WFA as a charitable gesture, the issue was considered too complex at that time. An invitation to Indonesia all expenses paid, except for the airfare to Indonesia, had to be declined for the same reasons. In 1970–71 the turnover of the whole organisation was £400. An invitation to develop and retail football kit for women from Lillywhites was referred to Patricia Gregory to follow up, and although it took place, again commercial developments were slow and halting.16 At the Annual General Meeting on 10 June 1972, Eric Worthington was introduced as the manager of the England Women’s Football Team.17 By now, a Joint Consultative Committee had been formed with the FA. It was agreed that only WFA-affiliated teams, in affiliated leagues could put forward players for England trials and selection. Worthington was an ex-professional player for Queen’s Park Rangers (QPR), Watford, a teacher later an FA qualified coach. Having combined his teaching career with being a professional footballer, was precarious at best, and a long spell at non-league Dover preceded Worthington’s return to the league with Bradford, before his most prolific spell at Margate, for almost 250 appearances, nearly 40 goals and the odd captaincy. This combined career enabled Eric to obtain a post at Loughborough College and from this he was invited to lead the selection process for the England women’s trials. He admitted he was a novice though in regards to women’s football. On 12 June 1972, a WFA Press release said: ‘Mr Worthington said, “Before my appointment as manager to the England women’s International team, I had not seen any women’s football, but I see no reason why they should not produce just as high a standard as men. There are many reasons why their  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Caxton Hall 3 April 1971 p. 1.  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Caxton Hall 3 April 1971 p. 3. 17  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Church Hall 10 June 1972 p. 1. 15 16

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standards might be higher.”’ While his pay and ­conditions were set by the FA, that is about as much support as the WFA were given. The Department for the Environment had funding streams for amateur national teams and it was this particular grant that enabled the selection trials. The FA was ultimately the national governing body and so any official team was, in effect, representing them, so providing the coach guaranteed a degree of conformity to their processes, in what was for them a new venture. A small FA financial contribution helped with selection but meals, accommodation, and travel were all covered by the WFA. An inter-League tournament, sponsored by Lillywhites, condensed about 300 hopefuls to a provisional squad of 25 who met at Loughborough College in September. As amateurs, any salary lost while representing their country was to be borne by the player, and many found themselves out of pocket as a result. Nor were there funds to buy kits, and no provision for diet, exercise, physiotherapy, or sports science of any kind. This was to remain the case for the next 30 years, although by the late 1990s, there would be a team doctor and a physiotherapist on a part-time basis. It was only with the appointment of Hope Powell in 1998 that England women would have a full-time coach, and the technical directorate would develop. Flo Bilton would launder the kit, and so players were not allowed to keep it, due to the financial situation, which means that when a recent book about the history of the England shirt was produced by leading collectors, Neville Evans, Simon Shakesheff and Daniel Burney, there were very few examples of 1970s women’s shorts available because they had not been kept in people’s lofts for posterity.18 Another way in which the archival and museum holdings of women’s football are so much more recent, and slighter collections, than men’s football. Umbro and Adidas provided kit when England qualified for their first world cup in 1995, but the daily ‘allowance’ was more pocket money than wages at £15 per day. By 4 December 1971, it was agreed that North and South trials would be held by June 1972 for league players at a combined cost of £75, and for non-­ league players in the Midlands at a cost of £12.50.19 Lillywhites, the sports goods retailer had actually been very supportive in wishing to provide bespoke women’s kit for the entirety of the existence of the WFA, and they made a small donation to help in 1972. It is often said that boots and football strips for women were not available until recently, but a look through the minute books revises this orthodoxy. The eight-person selection committee would be funded to the tune of £100 to attend these three events. This was funded by a £665 grant from the Department for the Environment, since the FA made it clear that they would provide no funds, but would be happy to give in-kind support such as help with coaching. Players were made aware of the need to fund their own travel costs. In the meantime, member clubs were invited to submit a 18  Simon Shakeshaft, Daren Burney and Neville Evans (eds.) Three Lions on a Shirt: The Official History of the England Football Jersey (London: Vision Sports Publishing, 2022). 19  WFA Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Caxton Hall 4 December 1971 p. 2.

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design for a suitable emblem for both the national team and the WFA in the hopes that a college of art could be induced to produce the finished badge. There was a further problem. A Joint Consultative Committee was held between the WFA and the FA on 11 February 1972. This was cordial but cool on both sides. It was clear that some factions of the WFA would have liked to have been integrated fully with the FA. However, others disagreed. Certainly, the FA had been obliged by UEFA to take control of women’s football, rather than wanting to do this itself. But this was better than the situation in Scotland. Mr. Allan of the Scottish Football Association replied to a request for the first match between the two teams, that he could neither grant nor deny the request because the Scottish Football Association (SFA) did not recognise women’s soccer. In this, they were ignoring UEFA’s directive and would continue to do so for some time. No Football League ground would grant the use of its pitch for the match. A further grant from the Sports Council to the tune of £1000 helped preparations though. Eric Worthington’s connection with Loughborough College was useful in securing accommodation and facilities for a training weekend starting on 9 July 1972. From the 44 women who attended the trials, a final group of 24 had been selected, from whom the team to travel to Scotland were picked. The selected final squad trained at Bisham Abbey training centre also used by men’s teams, and were star-struck at breakfast when they saw the Middlesbrough men’s team, who were supportive. The final squad then met at Wembley where the now iconic white England sports bags were issued. The first England game, against Scotland at Ravenscraig Stadium in Greenock on 18 November 1972, resulted in a 3-2 victory. Elsie Cook had struggled to find a ground willing to stage the match, because the SFA still didn’t recognise women’s football and did not want their affiliated pitches being used. An attempt to host an international against a Czechoslovakian club side in 1971 was declined by the SFA rather curtly. Ravenscraig Stadium is still a multi-purpose stadium, in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland built in 1958. The stadium, capacity 600, is primarily for athletics, with a running track, but it is also home to Greenock Juniors Football Club. The referee, J.  Clelland of Glasgow, officiated a tight and exciting game. The welcome was warm for ‘the auld enemy’, but conditions were icy and bitterly cold. Players report the pitch as unplayable and as hard as concrete but were enormously proud to be representing their country. Sylvia Gore, who had previously played for Manchester Corinthians, and then joined Fodens, opened the scoring for England, and Scotland equalised through Mary Carr, then ahead with an impressive Rose Reilly goal direct from a corner kick. Two late England goals from Lynda Hale and Jeannie Allott eventually won the match with a lob. It was to be the only England international in 1972. This was an impressive debut as the Scotland team, managed by Robert Stewart, was strong: It included Janie Houghton, in goal, defenders Jean and June Hunter, Linda Kidd and Marian Mount.20 Captained by Margaret  Jean Hunter/Stewart interview Wembley Stadium 7 November 2022.

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McAulay, the midfield also showcased outstanding talents Sandra Walker, Rose Reilly, and Edna Neillis, feeding to strikers Mary Anderson and Mary Carr. The substitutes for Scotland were Angela Creamer, Mary Davenport, Linda Cooper, Diane McClaren, and Irene Morrison.21 Reilly, just 17, and a player for Westhorn United of Ayrshire, would go on to a professional career in Italy, and an unofficial world cup title as captain of the Italian national side. She remembered: ‘I was just a kid, basically. It was Baltic, it was freezing.’22 Captain McAulay, also a Westhorn player, would go on to win 23 caps for Scotland, and pulled a ligament, so was substituted in the second half. She later became a referee and was the first woman to be officially awarded an SFA certificate in Lanarkshire, and amongst the first in Scotland. Elsie Cook, the first secretary of the Scottish Women’s Football Association, sewed the badges that she had paid for onto shirts paid for by an instalment loan. In forming their own Scottish Women’s Football Association, Cook and others were able to lead developments outside the control of the SFA. Cook called herself a ‘football suffragette’.23 She had tears in her eyes at the kick-off for what they had achieved. On a Sunday, she would sweep the puddles out of the goalmouth, put up the nets, and persuade a local man to referee the game. There was also a Scottish Sabbatarian influence, which meant that many women would not do a wash, or any form of work in observing Sunday as an especially religious day. Sunday was important because most pitches were fully used by men and boys on other days of the week. Elsie talks about how her love of football, and her commitment to leading developments, cost her marriage as her husband left over her enthusiasm. In respect of organising the first match, the SFA banned her from women’s football so she moved on to organise youth clubs and competitions, afterwards. Patricia Gregory remembered a sports shop willing to donate kit, but used to lacrosse and hockey expected the players to use divided skirts, rather than shorts. Defending the right to wear a recognisable football strip has been an ongoing struggle till today. So the history of England women’s football shirts, and full strips is quite different than the England men’s game. The England team had little better financial preparation, and conditions were almost as sparse, although there was a brief reception at Wembley for a press call. The England preparations overspent by £170, and Worthington was offered a post as Director of Football Coaching in Australia. Two silver goblets were awarded to him in recognition of his work and well wishes sent for his new adventures overseas. John Adams agreed to assist in the search for a new coach, stepping in to the breach for two 1973 matches.24 Just as there was great respect for Eric Worthington in his single game, John Adams was seen to be a good coach in whom the squad could trust, a large friendly Yorkshireman  Linda Kidd/ Mellon interview Wembley Stadium 7 November 2022.  Rose Reilly interview Wembley Stadium 7 November 2022. 23  Elsie Cook interview by phone 8 November 2022. 24  WFA Minutes of the Council Meeting 3 February 1973 Item 25 p. 4, author’s collection. 21 22

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c­ ompared to Eric’s pedigree as a somewhat stern figure who had commanded a tank during his World War II service. In October 1972, the 15-strong squad included the first 11 players to represent an official England team. Thankfully, most had begun to play the sport as unofficially recognised players, and so were rather good, even while many were very young. England’s first XI included Southampton’s Sue Buckett, in goal, aged 28. The defence were Southampton’s Morag Kirkland aged fifteen; Blackpool’s Sandra Graham aged twenty-seven, and Buxton’s Janet Bagguley, aged seventeen. The midfield included Captain Sheila Parker, of Fodens, aged twenty-four and with a young son less than a year old. Paddy McGroarty of Thame was actually of Scottish heritage and aged twenty-four. She played alongside two more Southampton players Lynda Hale, aged eighteen, and Pat Davies, aged sixteen. Sylvia Gore of Fodens, aged twenty-eight, was partnered by team mate Jeannie Allott. Gore had also played for Manchester Corinthians previously and had been a team mate of the other striker, Jean Wilson aged twenty-three, who would feature in her only England game due to injury. Again, the bench indicated strength in depth including: Thame’s Wendy Owen aged eighteen, Julia Manning aged twenty-one, and eighteen-year-old Eileen Foreman of Warminster. Sixteen-year-old substitute goalkeeper Susan Whyatt of Macclesfield later became a police dog handler in her professional career and also pioneered attitudes to women in that particular sphere, having had to go in on her rest days for a year to work with the animals before her superiors would consider employing a woman in that particular section. Goalkeeping helped, as Sue remembered ‘hurling’ big dogs over an agility course as part of her training, and her strength and responsiveness from football being an asset. Eventually though, being in the police force would cost her a place in the England squad as she would be retained in case of cases against women or children as one of a relatively few Women Police Officer (WPO), as female constables were called at the time. It was a Southern-biased team selection, with four Southampton players, but there were indications that Northern, and Midlands players had chances. Sandbach-based Fodens had sometimes been affiliated, and sometimes not affiliated to the WFA, but were undoubtedly great rivals of Southampton, as were Manchester Corinthians, although their great striker Margaret ‘Whitty’ Whitworth was out injured at the time of the selection tournament, so individual circumstances could be as telling as general geographic trends. Who then were the historic first eleven?

Sue Buckett I was born in 1944, and grew up in Southampton, I was adopted and an only child. I first started playing up against the wall outside the house right from being able to stand up on my own. I played all sports from when I was toddler, but gave up other sport when I decided to concentrate on football. My other sports

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included kayaking which I wanted to continue, and I got pulled in to women’s football because they were desperate for players.

At this stage of our interview on 4 November 2022, Sue shows me Flame magazine, as she played for British Gas, at that time called Southern Gas, in Southampton, and was featured on the cover of the September/October 1970 issue under a headline ‘The Sporting World of Sue Buckett’. Sue had featured in the magazine before ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, for which she was coached and trialled as a prospective competitor. Women’s canoeing and kayaking were relatively new additions to the programme at this time, so she was at the cutting edge of sporting developments at the time. A County level netball player, she also played badminton and golf. At that time a relatively junior accounts clerk, Sue also volunteered for the Heathfield Youth Club on the committee, where she made her own canoe out of a £7 10 shilling kit. On the local Common, several teams began to play football, and Flame were one such team, for whom Sue played in her twenties, having been inspired by England’s success in 1966. In a sense, she got pulled into football because the team were desperate for players, Sue had not been impressed by the glamour that George Best conferred on football, and her own experiences were very different. On the Common, the clubhouse was effectively a shed, the pitch was muddy, and washing facilities ran to a bucket of cold water. Lots of the teams were supported by local businesses, and the kit was bought through subscriptions and a range of fundraising activities, so they all volunteered extra time for the club and played on weekends. Sue would go on to work for Southern Gas for fifty-two years, rising from being a clerk to a Senior Projects Officer in the Finance Department to becoming a Senior Manager. The Flame team changed too, as initially everyone who played worked for Southern Gas, but then new players came in, and the league itself which had been Southampton only to start, included teams from further afield in London, Aylesbury, and Swindon. Beginning as an outfield player, notably as a goal-scoring Right Back, then as a centre half. Sue was asked to fill in as goalkeeper because of her skills from netball, and because the incumbent keeper’s husband wished her to give up football. Sue was five feet four inches. No one in Sue’s family was particularly football minded, so to learn goalkeeping, she obtained a book by Bob Wilson, who played for Arsenal and England, read it, and practised. The club manager worked for the Post Office, and they trained in a PO warehouse, or wherever it was cheap and available. She would go on to contest the first FA Cup Final in 1971. Sue Lopez also organised for the Southampton team to play in the USA against her Italian club side Roma, Of Sue Buckett’s England career, she went on to play thirty times, the last in 1984 just after her 40th birthday, but she continued to play her club football with Red Star Southampton much longer. She didn’t like her green goalkeeping football strip, and once in a practice game broke her arm. Her England

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career was initially over in 1981, but she returned for a tour in Italy. She went on to travel to France, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, and Denmark in her career. At the time goalkeeping coaching for women was quite rare, and it was probably the weakest position in the opposing teams. When I asked Sue what it felt like to play the position for her country, her feelings were understandably mixed. On the one hand, she told me ‘You’re stood in the mud doing nothing or else you’re being clobbered with something else. And on the other, when you’ve made a save, I must have liked it really. You save a goal and you are wonderful! You’re Queen.’ Sue coached and did physical therapy for many years too, to help younger players overcome some of the challenges she faced. For instance, Aman Dosanj who played for Southampton Saints, England Under-16s, and Arsenal was coached by Sue. Beginning with the Under-10s team, Aman had already become an adept keeper when her brother fired shots at her in the garden when they played at home. In 1999, Aman Dosanj became the first British Asian to play for England women, and the first British Indian, three months before Michael Chopra England men. Sue Bucket’s endorsement convinced her parents that she was good enough to play for England, and they were very supportive and arranged for her to be coached in Bournemouth twice a week. Clive Gorman coached her from age ten until eighteen when she left for America on a football scholarship. This didn’t work out and Aman retired when she undertook a business degree. In this example, we can see how goalkeeping went from something a player like Sue had to learn from a book to having opportunities to go to the USA on a university football scholarship. But ultimately, Aman could not earn a living from football. That situation has changed only for a very few women, much more recently. And goalkeeping can be an isolating position to play, with injuries like dislocated collarbones and arms frequent, and fewer chances in squads. But Sue Buckett’s legacy today is considerable. Almost eighty at the time of our interview, Sue still goes to fitness classes and does her own gardening, having carried on with her golf for many years. Her friend Vanessa Raynbird, who was present at our interview, went on to play and manage Southampton, also sits on the Hampshire FA Inclusion Advisory Group. Vanessa had not been treated very well at Southampton when the men’s league team decided in 2001 to bring the women’s team under their control. A male coach was appointed who then saw the women’s team relegated, and was then sacked. In 2005 the men’s Southampton team was relegated and funding for the women’s team was withdrawn. Vanessa moved to Portsmouth, determined to make a contribution, from 2003 to 2014, and is now a Director of the Hampshire FA, encouraging more diversity. It was lovely to see this long-time friendship through football finally have some kind of recognition when Sue was given her number one cap at the England vs. USA match at Wembley in 2022 after the Euros victory, and Vanessa was her guest on the night. I only hope Vanessa gets some recognition for her hard work, and her lifelong love of football too.

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Morag Kirkland, Now Pearce Morag, her sister Heather and I met in Southampton and at Wembley on a couple of occasions. This is a composite of our interviews. Morag was born in 1955, and Heather in 1961. Both played for Southampton, but Morag was the only one to play for England. The family moved to the St Mary’s area of Southampton, and Morag played football in the school grounds, and also on local common ground with her brother. Then the family moved to Weston and she played with boys and girls in the area. A neighbour, Harry Holt, who worked in women’s football, spotted her interest and potential. Harry formed Weston Dynamos, a team for young girls and adults, at the training ground at Mayfield Park. Weston Dynamos then formed Weston Torpedoes for younger players, and Heather joined this. The Dynamos played in Southampton’s League against Real FC, Inter Malizia, Minicab Maidens, Royex, and Flame. Over time, the league declined and formed a single team, Southampton under manager Norman Holloway. As a twelve-year-old, she was spotted by Norman and invited on the tour to the USA. Playing in the USA as a twelve-year-old was quite intimidating, and the Italians were physical, and tactically astute. Morag remembered training in Central Park. Morag’s England career was fortuitous, as well as a result of her talent. She went for trials for England with most of the Southampton team and was selected for England. The regular Right Back, Karen Buchanan did not go to the trials, so this was also fate. At 15, she was the youngest on the England side, with the next oldest being Jeannie Allott aged sixteen. Ironically, her parents had moved down to Southampton from Scotland in 1945, so the 1972 international was a game of mixed emotion. She went on to play for England forty times. Morag married in 1977 and had two children, and the wider family helped when she went abroad to play England matches. Working for Hover Marine in Woolston, she took annual leave for matches and found work supportive. Still playing at the first 1984 UEFA championships, Morag was embarrassed by the lack of FA support for the England women’s team and the lack of facilities. Even so, Morag experienced social change by travelling abroad. She played games in France, Denmark, and Italy and, in 1976, played in Italy for fundraising for earthquake relief. England also played in Northern Ireland at the height of the trouble. Her impressions included security checkpoints, and being advised to stay in the hotel except for matches. In Sweden for the Euros in 1984, the facilities and the pitch were much superior to the return leg in Luton, which England lost. Personally, Morag had just started training again when selected for Sweden and experienced some negative comments about not being at full fitness, even though there was no maternity policy in place at the time. Now playing walking football for England over sixties as captain with Heather, Morag enjoys the camaraderie and fitness.

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Sandra Graham Sandra had not been well enough to join the celebrations at Wembley in October 2022 to receive her cap, and as the most Northerly of the players felt it was a long way to travel down to London. On our telephone interview on 13 December 2022, she told me that she was born in 1944, the only child in her family. Always sporty at school, she was a very good sprinter, loved athletics, and activities like throwing the rounders ball of which she was school champion of Hodgson School, now Hodgson Academy, in Poulton-le-Fylde, near Blackpool in Lancashire. Sandra only started playing football in her early twenties, after an advertisement in the Blackpool Gazette invited girls and women to Stanley Park for trials in the 1970–1971 season. Sandra remembered at least thirty players, probably more attended, and from this, the Blackpool Seabirds were formed. Sandra was captain and centre half, and her friend Julie Fielding, now Hayes, also played. They remain very good friends over 51 years later. How then did she come to the attention of the WFA for England selection? Sandra remembered being scouted and invited to the trials at Loughborough College with Eric Worthington, whom she liked as a coach. Although only five feet two inches tall, she was a good header of the ball, and liked to attack as well as defend. Her speed also marked her out for attention, and she was selected along with quite a few others she knew from the Northern Leagues, from Macclesfield and Manchester, like Jean Wilson, Sue Whyatt, and Janet Bagguley/ Clark. The first match, she remembered, was very cold and not many people attended—about 200 spectators. The Blackbird Seabirds hired a bus to go up to Scotland to watch her play, and she was touched by the kind support of her team mates. She was twenty- seven at the time, and only Sylvia Gore was older in the squad. There was a good balance of youthful promise and experience, and her club captaincy gave her confidence to direct team mates in defence. Sandra played once for England having been called up on the phone while at work. She then was injured for quite a while and didn’t get an England call­up a second time. Her club football did however carry on until she was about thirty-six or thirty-seven, moving from Blackpool to Preston North End because the standard of play was better and she wanted to develop her game. Very fit, Sandra liked to be robust in tackling her opponents. Still now, in 2022 she loves her football and the friends she made through it, enjoying watching the Lionesses winning in July at Wembley and very proud of their achievements as players and people. She would just like her red velvet cap with her legacy number on it, as soon as possible to show friends and family in Carlton and the local area. Sandra was given her cap by Rachel Brown-Finnis 21 February 2023.

Janet Bagguley Known by her Macclesfield team mates as Baggy, Janet Clark (née Bagguley) was born in 1955 in Buxton and played for Macclesfield Ladies in 1972, the team from which goalkeeper Sue Whyatt was also selected. Janet had been a

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decent netball player, and started playing football with her three brothers when very young. Joining Macclesfield Ladies in 1970, Janet had a couple of years of club football, and was very fortunate to be chosen for the very first England squad in 1972. At our interview, she told me, ‘My most amazing memory is standing on that pitch and feeling so proud representing England while the national anthem was played. I really enjoyed my time representing our country and have made some fabulous friends through this.’ Described by one team mate as ‘hard as nails and a ferocious tackler’, Janet was in a card school with Wendy Owen and Jeannie Allott. She started the 2-1 win over Holland at Blackpool on 2 May 1976 in the number 6 shirt, but then hung her boots up due to work commitments and having to use all her holidays for football. Amateur international careers could be quite short due to other commitments, but in these four years, Janet also played against France, Northern Ireland, Wales, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Sheila Parker MBE I’ve met the England captain Sheila Parker on a number of occasions. Below is a detailed oral history interview conducted in January 2020. I signed for Dick, Kerr Ladies in 1960 aged thirteen and later made my debut on 10 June 1961 against Oldham who we beat 6-2 playing at Cleveleys. I so enjoyed playing the game and played wherever I was asked except for in goal. I just loved it so much, playing on ground at the local “rec” (recreation park) at Chorley and picking up bits from the men, like how to slide tackle on the rec.25 In 1963, I signed for Foden’s of Sandbach Cheshire and played alongside some greats including Sylvia Gore. Most often, I played in midfield or defence but I didn’t mind where, I just preferred to be playing. By 1969, the Women’s Football Association (WFA) had formed in England and Foden Ladies won the English Knock Out Competition Final, vs. Westhorn United of Scotland, a sort of Scotland v England before full internationals. As captain of Fodens, I was part of the team that beat the up-and-coming Southampton side, which had several players who would later become full England internationals, 5-1. Another career highlight. In 1970, the North West Women’s League was formed comprising eight teams. In 1972, I captained the first ever WFA England side in a 3-2 win over Scotland with Sylvia Gore scoring the first goal. I was made captain by manger Eric Worthington, the night before the match. I went on to play under four England managers: Eric Worthington; John Adams; Tommy Tranter, and Martin Reagan. All through 1973, England remained unbeaten in five matches that I captained. As England team players, we travelled to several overseas countries which in those days was a marvellous honour, as we were all so down to earth and loved playing the sport. In 1974 I also won a WFA Cup Medal with Fodens in the 2-1 win over Southampton, a hard fought game.

 Sheila Parker interview with the author 19 January 2020.

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In fact, there was just one England international in 1972; four in 1973; three in 1974 and three in 1975.26 So opportunities to represent at the highest international level were sparse. Little wonder then, that Sheila’s obvious pride in captaining her country also led her to rely on club football and domestic honours for most of her distinctive achievements. Even so, it took ten games for England to be defeated, and Sweden were the team to inflict a 2-0 home victory in Gothenburg on 15 June 1975. The interview with Sheila continues: ‘I signed for Preston North End Ladies FC in 1975 scoring fifty-one goals in fourteen games and helping them to the Division One Championship. 1976 was another career highlight as England won the first ever home international championships, and Preston North End retained the League Championship, in which I scored forty-two goals. In 1977, I won a third Division One Championship medal, with PNE and we did the double, of the first ever League Cup final. A great year since I also scored the only goal against Italy at Wimbledon to win that international. A header, if I remember rightly. I was so happy and proud!’ In May 1976, the manager Tommy Tranter had asked Carol Thomas to take on the captaincy which she held thereafter. However, Sheila’s England career was far from over. By the end of 1977, England women had played Scotland, France, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Wales, Switzerland, Sweden, and Italy, with their first game against Ireland, Eire, in May 1978. The Ireland fixture marked England’s twenty-third official international match, and was on this occasion sponsored by Pony Wine, with the match ball donated by Mitre.27 Sheila was to go on to score important goals for England including coming off the bench to replace an injured Linda Curl, to score against Switzerland in Sorrento during an international tournament organised by the Italians. The 1979 tour seems to have been the most sustained and well organised by the WFA to that point. It also seems to have been an extremely social affair. The team was managed by Cleveland Spartans manager John Simms for the tour, as Peter Warburton could not travel due to commitments with Altrincham. Dorothy Carr acted as interpreter and the team stayed at the Britannique hotel, after refusing to lodge at a hostel. They used the San Germano hotel swimming pool; both Pat Chapman and Linda Curl had birthdays. John and Jenny Bruton came out to support the team. Flo Bilton helped with arrangements, as did Jane Talbot.28 England beat Finland 3-1 in their first match on 19 July 1979 and then beat Switzerland 2-0 on 23 July; they lost four days later 3-1 to Italy in Naples with Curl scoring a birthday consolation goal; and drew nil-nil with Sweden, two days later in Scafati. England thereby lost fourth place on penalties. 26  The Women’s Football Association England v Sweden Programme 7 September 1975 Wimbledon FC WFA collection BL89306/4/1. 27  The Women’s Football Association England v Ireland (Eire) Programme 2 May 1978 Exeter City FC WFA collection BL89306/4/1. 28  The Women’s Football Association England v Finland Programme 19 July 1979 Sorrento WFA collection BL89306/4/1.

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Sheila Parker remembered her continuing England and club career: ‘My club and England career continued, winning in 1978 a League Cup winner’s medal and part of the newly formed North West Regional Squad. Again, in 1979, Preston won the League Cup and the League Championship, a double for the club. In 1980, Preston North End (PNE) won the Championship, and League Cup, narrowly missing out on the treble of the WFA Cup by finishing runners up to St Helens. I was voted Player of the Match though. We played a really attacking style of football. Five forwards, full backs, who could get forwards, a playmaker centre half, and attacking midfielders. The next year was mixed emotions. After thirty-three games for England, I retired from the squad on 22 May 1983 when we had a 2-0 win over Scotland in the UEFA Cup qualifier at Elland Road. I was voted Division Two Player of the season after signing as player and then becoming manager in 1984 for my home team, Chorley Ladies FC. In 1988, I received a loyalty award from the North West Women’s League. But I couldn’t leave it there. In 1989, I signed for Second Division Wigan Ladies FC, winning a Championship medal and intermediate cup finalist medal; in 1990, I captained Wigan in the restructured North West Women’s League to a second championship and promotion to Division One. Thirty-four years on, aged 46 I decided to retire from football, playing my final years for Clitheroe Ladies FC. Refereeing helped to fill the gap that football left in my life and I became a Class 2 referee in the Saturday Alliance League, and Sunday League in Chorley. Football was the centre of my life still. I kept fit, by jogging, and training on the rec. By the time of my National Football Hall of Fame notification in 2013, I had finished playing quite a few years. I was inducted alongside great male and female players, from Lily Parr onwards to Matthew Letissier, Cliff Jones, Jack Taylor, Eddie Grey, David Clarke, and Mike Somerbee. This was the best honour and, one that will last forever.’ Along with FA colleagues, and Nationwide Building Society, a plaque was unveiled in 2022 at Chorley FC to mark Sheila’s achievement, and she was also awarded an MBE in recognition of her contribution to football.29 She also received her legacy number at Wembley in October 2022 at the friendly with the USA and has now been more widely recognised.

Paddy McGroarty Margaret, ‘Paddy’ McGroarty was born in 1948, of Glasgow Irish stock, she was described as ‘very Scottish’ by her Thame team mate, Wendy Owen in her memoir, who remained unsure of Paddy’s qualification to play for England.30 29   Nationwide and the FA Respect Campaign Sheila Parker https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=3kiffnp1cZY accessed 7 December 2022. 30  Wendy Owen Kicking Against Tradition: A Career in Women’s Football (London: Tempus, 2005) 25.

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It may have been that travelling south to join the Forces and being stationed in England there was a residency qualification. A skilful but tough attacking midfielder or playmaker in England’s first national team, McGroarty is a cousin of Scottish midfielder Pat Crerand. In Scotland, McGroarty played her club football at Cambuslang Hooverettes, in Scotland before moving South to play for Buckingham Ladies but soon left for Thame. A penalty shootout between Southampton’s Sue Lopez and Hooverettes’ McGroarty decided the 1970 Deal Tournament. Saints goalkeeper Sue Buckett saved future England team mate McGroarty’s first effort and she missed the second kick. Lopez also missed her first kick but scored with her second to give Southampton their first major trophy. Like many male Scottish ‘anglos’ before her who had migrated down to England, the move south suited her game. A slight, quite small player, the speed of her runs and agility with the ball had qualities often labelled at the time as ‘Continental’. For instance, team mate Gill Sayell remembers that ‘mesmerising’ Paddy would flick the ball over the heads of opponents, as well as regularly doing Cruyff turns, and nutmegging players when on the attack. McGroarty briefly entered a convent in her youth, and was later in the British Army stationed at Bicester, hence joining Thame from 1970; a team which included Sue Goodwin, Alison East, and Maureen Dawson, along with Sayell, and Owen. Fellow Scot Nancy Roy also moved down and Gill Sayell’s father helped many of the players to obtain employment in the town, in this case with CBS Records. At Thame, McGroarty played in a WFA Cup semi-final defeat to Southampton in 1972 and a third place play-off defeat by Leicester Emgals, played as a curtain-raiser to the final. Thame also won the final edition of the Deal Tournament in 1972. At twenty-four, McGroarty was one of the older players to make it through the trials into Eric Worthington’s first England team. Footage from Bisham Abbey shows McGroarty training hard. Her occupation is referred to as a booking clerk in the newspapers in 1972. She was also the joker. On the bus to Greenock for England’s historic first ever match, McGroarty demanded her team mates produce their passports for the border, according to Wendy Owen. McGroarty started the match and her agility helped England clinch their historic 3–2 win. McGroarty scored twice in England’s 8–0 win over her fellow Scots at Nuneaton, on 23 June 1973, and the winner in a 1–0 defeat of the Dutch at Reading’s Elm Park on 9 November 1973, England’s first match on a Football League ground. Another two goals for McGroarty followed in England’s 5–0 win over Wales at Slough Town in March 1974. Despite superb form, McGroarty does not seem to have played for England after this, although there is a possibility she started for the game against the Netherlands 31 May 1974, as evidence is contradictory. Her club-level career continued though. With QPR, McGroarty featured in the classic series of three consecutive WFA Cup finals against Southampton in 1976, 1977, and 1978. She scored a free kick equaliser in the 1976 final to

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force extra-time, but QPR lost 2–1. The next year, QPR were back and McGroarty proudly captained them to a 1–0 win in the final at Dulwich Hamlet FC. A report in The Guardian, bearing the dubious headline, Bridge of Thighs, called McGroarty: ‘a busy little whippet… the best player on the field’. Meeting again the following season, QPR were thumped 8–2 in the 1978 final at Slough Town. Saints’ Pat Chapman ran riot and hit a double hat-trick. Having moved to Australia with her partner Carol, McGroarty went on to continue her football and was one of the players helping to popularise the sport in the 1970s in the country.

Lynda Hale Lynda and I have met on a number of occasions, in Southampton, and at Wembley. This is a composite account of various interviews we have done. Born in Southampton in 1956, at birth, Lynda’s legs were twisted, so she needed callipers to straighten them out. To strengthen them, her uncle and grandmother made her kick a ball, though the family all enjoyed football, so she got hooked and played regularly. It took two to three years for her to walk without callipers. More formally, she played football with the boys at school and on the local recreation ground where she was spotted by Dave Case and at age 12 signed up for Cunard, which he managed, playing in the Southampton League. Dave worked for Cunard, and Lynda’s parents became treasurer and Chair of Cunard, where not all the players worked for the company. Lynda’s father worked for Cunard, in the kitchens of the Queen Mary. A lot of works’ teams played on the Common, and so she became aware of other teams and players, such as Sue Buckett’s Flame, and Royex of the telephone Exchange. Other work’s teams included Inter Malizia, bookmakers; Sunny Saints, an insurance company; and Mini Cab Maidens, a taxi firm in Totton, although Western Dynamos were a local side. League games were reported in The Daily Echo. The team had to send their reports and results to Wendy Gee (sports editor) and appeared in the Sport Pink on a Saturday. Lynda scored on her debut in the Southampton women’s League and her young age, just twelve, meant that the achievement made the local newspaper. Dave and her parents were very proud. Over time, many Cunard players, most of whom were in their twenties, left due to marriage, and moving away, so Dave Case started a new team, Patstone United, sponsored by sports outfitters Patstone & Cox, which became very successful. Lynda played there for six to seven years. Dave Case formed a local representative side Southampton—with the best players from all the local teams. Southampton Women’s Football Club went on to play for many years, but as we have seen above, this concerned the WFA as to whether this was strictly fair. They won the first match at Royal Victoria Country Park 9-0 against Ipswich. Players included Pat Davies, Sue Lopez, Jill Long, and Dot Cassels. On Thursdays, they trained, sometimes indoors, at the Victoria Country Park, site of Netley Hospital, many of the old buildings were all still standing, and they used the gym for circuit training. Tuesdays would be training on grass

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at the Common, and later at Hamble School. Lynda loved the camaraderie, stopping off at pubs on the way home, and spending time with team mates. Lynda played in all the eight WFA Mitre Cup wins, and scored regularly for Southampton. Following the England selection, all the Southampton players travelled together by train up to London. Training was once a week, and the occasions to come together as a squad were very rare. At the England-Scotland match in 1972, Lynda scored in the bottom left hand corner of the goal to equalise with an assist from Pat Davies. She was far too excited to celebrate in a particular way other than running. Playing for England only meant a lot to family members and a few people Lynda worked with, as women’s football wasn’t very big. She worked as a traffic warden and took days off to play for England, benefitting from feeling important when being put up at a hotel, but otherwise, paying to play her football. After seven or eight England matches, Lynda had travelled to a few European countries. She recounted the Southampton trip to the USA to play Roma, as both Sue Lopez and Hilary Carter had played in Italy. Eventually after setting up youth teams at Southampton, she began to run her son’s football team and focussed on that. Now, Lynda plays in the X Saints Walking Football team, along with Vanessa Raynbird, which trains on Sundays. They won their first tournament and came second in a national competition. Now X Saints have two teams and are encouraging more women to join. It was also great to see that with two receptions at Wembley by the FA, that Lynda and others feel more celebrated as a result of the Women’s Euros history and heritage programme.

Sylvia Margaret Gore MBE I only met Sylvia once, and it was in her later life and briefly at a coaching event. This interview is one that Welsh historian of the women’s game, John Carrier, kindly shared with me after he and I met at the National Football Museum in 2018 when we held a reunion of players, and he came along with Elaine Badrock. I am grateful to John for this interview, conducted on 8 July 2016. Sylvia is unfortunately the only one of the first eleven no longer with us, having died in September 2016. Sylvia was born in Prescot, Merseyside, in 1944 the daughter of Eileen and John ‘Jack’ Gore. Sylvia watched her father and uncle play for British Insulated Calender Cables, more commonly shortened to Prescot Cables, which inspired her to play herself. She attended local schools, Our Lady’s and St Edmund Arrowsmith, but with no school girl football available and the FA ban still in place, Sylvia joined Manchester Corinthians, aged twelve, and like many of the players took two buses to travel for training at Fog Lane Park Didsbury, and for matches, accompanied by her parents. Fog Lane had no running water in the changing rooms, and the duck pond in which the players sometimes washed is still there today. There are snapshots of them trailing buckets of slightly warmer

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water to the park. It has been said in her obituary that she went on the Corinthians South American tour, but players I have interviewed couldn’t remember her being in South America in 1960. Evidence can be contradictory, in John Carrier’s interview, she said she joined in 1961 which would have been after the South American tour, but if she was twelve, it would have been in the 1956–1957 season. The verbatim interview reads: ‘You know things were tough back then, when I was playing for Corinthians back in the 50s we had an agent based in Portugal (the Red Cross would sponsor trips abroad) and he would pay for our trips we played all over the world as a youngster I played in front of 80,000, in South America and at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, this was because of the ban on women playing in England it was hard to find grounds to play on that’s why we played abroad such a lot. While with the Corinthians we raised over £250,000 and would be away from home at 3 months at a time, I started playing at 12 years old…I was 28 years old when I won my first cap (with England). In my day there was very few internationals played. My friend Gill Coultard has over 100 caps from her day. Now the girls today stand a good chance of raising their cap level because there are so many more tournaments…we couldn’t keep our bags or our kit, hard times the girls all had to pay their way.’ Sylvia’s team mates at Corinthians agree that she went to Italy, but couldn’t confirm she went to South America, so maybe that was a borrowed memory of the Corinthians. The Liverpool Echo reported on 13 June 1962 that 17-year-old Sylvia was to tour South America with the Corinthians, but unfortunately, that tour did not take place, and I have been told by surviving players that it was actually planned for South Africa, so newspapers can be problematic sources. Memories often become hazy with the passage of time, and players who did go to South America, like Margaret Whitworth, say Sylvia definitely did not go. However, this does not detract from Sylvia’s playing on famous pitches in Italy, which the other players confirm she did, and scoring some 40/50 goals in her first season. Perhaps since she was only to live a few months after the John Carrier interview she misremembered. According to Sue Lopez’s book, it was one of the many Corinthians tours, and players I have interviewed spoke about 1957, when they won an unofficial European championship in Germany, and 1967 when Sylvia joined Fodens, the Sandbach team in Cheshire, after Percy Ashley, the founding manager of Corinthians had died. Most likely, it seems to have been 1961 when she joined, or that she could not go in 1960 to South America, as not all the Corinthians could get time off work for three months. In 1967, Sylvia moved to play for Foden Ladies FC, and here, her reputation as a tenacious inside-right would blossom, touring across the country raising money for numerous charitable causes. In 1969, Foden Ladies (England) became Great Britain Champions via Hughie Green’s Butlins Cup, beating Scottish side Westthorn United 1-0 (Scotland) at Greenock Holiday Park. In 1970, Sylvia and Foden Ladies (England) played Westthorn United (Scotland) again in the same competition this time held at Belle Vue, Stadium in

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Manchester beating the team from Hamilton 2-0. The team also appeared on Hughie Green’s talent show Opportunity Knocks. But the WFA, when it formed in 1969–1970 advised its clubs not to attend Butlins-organised competitions as it was ‘unaffiliated’ to the WFA itself. In 1970, Sylvia and Foden’s would visit North Wales in Flintshire to play a newly formed independent team, Prestatyn Ladies, formed by sisters, Eleri and Mai Griffith, to be played on Easter Sunday, 29 March, in front of over 3000 spectators. Eleri Roberts (nee Griffith) remarked, ‘Foden’s were brilliant with possibly Sylvia Gore being the pick of the bunch.’ That game was won by Foden 9-0, scorers remain unknown, but Sylvia certainly made an impact. These two teams would later meet on a frequent basis in further games five-a-side, Tournaments, and WFA Cup games in later years, as well as produce internationals for both England and Wales. Foden and Sylvia returned to North Wales once more to play Deeside Firebelles at Queensferry winning 6-0 on Sunday, 13 September 1970. Sylvia would come up against her former club Corinthians in the Silktown Challenge Trophy held in Macclesfield during May 1972, the teams met in the Group stage with Foden winning 3-1 and subsequently beating Preston N.E. in the final by the same score with Sue Fish, Sylvia, and Leslie Cauldwell securing the title. By then, Sylvia had already been selected for England. Sylvia’s proudest moment of her playing career was being picked by Eric Worthington to play in the first international at Ravenscraig Stadium, Greenock, on 18 November 1972. This was the day Sylvia would score England’s very first, historic goal in the first half after Scotland had taken a two-goal lead. Second half and two more goals would come from England’s Jeannie Allott and Lynda Hale for a 3-2 victory. During 1974, Sylvia with Foden would achieve another milestone in history by beating the mighty Southampton Ladies team who were three-time winners of the Mitre Trophy/Pony Cup at Bedford Town FC 2-1 with two goals from Alison Leatherbarrow (Foden) and one from Pat Davies (Southampton). The Mitre Trophy was the name of the WFA annual competition that became the women’s FA Cup later. Sylvia mentioned her memories of this game: ‘Sue Lopez is a good friend of mine she managed Wales as well in fact Sue played for Southampton who used to win the Women’s FA Cup year after year although while I was at Foden’s we played them in their fourth Cup Final and beat them 2-1, I think I scored with my head but I was knocked out from that one. While at Foden’s we would travel in a bus they built and we took it on one tour to Holland, it had one of those stairs on the back that wound up to the next level, very few of the girls if any worked in the factory at Foden’s.’ Her career as an England international resulted in five caps, with the last against Wales at Warminster on the 17 March 1974, winning 5-0. Her club career continued with Foden Ladies up to 1975. An area of her career seems to have been ignored when she joined Prestatyn Ladies FC who were playing in the Merseyside and Wirral Women’s Football

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League. Along with Alison Leatherbarrow, also from Foden Ladies, they would carve out history yet again joining a growing team’s reputation and enhancing it to became the first side to win the League Treble, of the Championship, the League, and the Con-Rogan Cup Final. Nor was this a fluke, they had been close to this feat the year before. Alison’s debut was at a League encounter on 14 September 1975, at home to Chester Ladies beating them 14-0, with Alison at centre-half scoring on her debut, while Sylvia knocking in four, Brenda Jones five, Elaine Badrock three, and Julie Yale adding to the score. The League Cup Final followed on 18 April 1975 (Easter Weekend) at Courtaulds’ Greenfield Ground against Halton Ladies. Prestatyn Ladies won 4-2, Elaine Badrock made a hat-trick, and Helen Langford a single goal, with Sylvia contributing pass after pass to deliver the win. The Championship was a close run affair with Prestatyn just needing one point to secure the title; on Sunday, 25 April 1975, last game of the season was away to Southport Ladies Julie Yale scored three minutes into the game, Southport equalised. Come the seventy-fifth minute, the Southport keeper fumbled the ball and Sylvia pounced to pass back for Mai Griffith to thunder the ball home. In the last 5 minutes, the referee awarded Southport a penalty only for it to be saved, but the referee adjudged Dianne Totty had moved and the kick was retaken. Prestatyn held on and won the Championship. Prestatyn also won the Con-Rogan Cup Final on 15 May 1975 at the Miners Institute, Fynnongroew, Flintshire against Southport Ladies who were dispatched 5-0. Sylvia once more delivering pass after pass. Julie Yale secured a hat-trick, and with a superb cross from Gore from the right into the path of Mai Griffith to secure the fourth, followed by a Brenda Jones penalty. With the addition of Sylvia and Alison Leatherbarrow, the team became the first to win the Treble in the League’s history. Sylvia continued with Prestatyn for the 1976–77 season with a notable performance against her former club, Foden Ladies, in the second round of the Mitre Cup in Cheshire resulting in a 7-1 victory for the team from Flintshire with Sylvia scoring one, Elaine Badrock four, along with Helen Langford and Mai Griffith. After this game, Sylvia’s name no longer appears in Prestatyn line-ups as Mai Griffith said: ‘Sylvia left the club due to travelling from her home in Prescot, for training and match day I’m unsure of the actual date but sometime in 1976–77.’ Sylvia was quite taken with the Merseyside League which had now introduced a second Division for 1977–78 and she allegedly helped in coaching at St Helens Ladies for a short period before forming Prescot Ladies, actually taking three Prestatyn girls with her and subsequently joining the league. The two teams would meet in the first round of the Con-Rogan Cup on 22 October 1978, only for Prestatyn to beat Sylvia’s team 3-2. While managing Prescot Ladies, Sylvia was approached in regard to coaching the Wales women’s national team. John Carrier asked how and who appointed her: ‘I was approached by a lady called Ida, who asked if I would be interested in taking on the Wales job, which although I’m English was thrilled

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to be asked as you would any International side.’ Ida Driscoll was the Chair of the Wales Women’s Football International (WWFI). Sylvia’s appointment was confirmed on Saturday, 17 February 1979. She was to meet the team literally days before they were to embark on a trip to Bordeaux on the Thursday 22nd to play France in Pauillac on Saturday, 24 February 1979. At this time, Sylvia was also still managing her home town team of Prescot Ladies. The appointment with Wales was initially for twelve months, but lasted ten years, with enforced breaks down to lack of funds from the WWFI. One report indicated Sylvia was assisted in her role with Wales by former Newport County player Terry Hubbard, who would have been her South Wales scout for potential players for the national squad. Her first game in charge against France was a baptism of sorts, losing 6-0. Being up against Pierre Geoffroy, the French manager who had suffered a 1-1 draw against Wales on 3 June 1978  in Merthyr Tydfil with a highly critical media in France. So revenge was on the cards for sure, what was interesting by the fact that the game was only 70 min long, 35 min each half which was a ruling back then by UEFA that any games of players aged seventeen and over would play those times. Although all the games in Britain were 90 min, the laws of the game as prescribed by UEFA stipulated games involving players below seventeen years of age would be 30 min each way. The scorers of the French goals were as follows: Marie-Agnes Plantegenet 3; Martine Chapuzet; Mariene Farrugia, and Chantel Pani. Two reports on the attendance differ slightly: one stating 2296, the other from an unknown French newspaper stating 1600 paying attendees with 400 students admitted free of charge. The finances for Wales were very poor: ‘I remember with Wales I put £5,000 of my own money to try to stabilise the Welsh team, nothing from the FAW… .money was always a massive problem. But you know we all played for the love of the game. The Welsh girls were all self-funded with occasional sponsorship I recall a trip to the Isle of Man which they all paid for to play England in 1985.’ Sylvia’s next three games in charge were all away first to Scotland on Sunday 22 April 1979, a 2-0 defeat with goals from Elinor Vinesky of Motherwell and Claire Thompson of Edinburgh Dynamos. Her greatest challenge was to come once more in Italy with Wales in a pre-­ cursor to the Women’s European Championship that consisted of twelve invited teams split into four groups of three. Group D had Sweden, the Netherlands, and Wales. England was also in attendance in Group B with Finland and Switzerland. Sylvia was particularly proud to have taken a team to this competition: ‘This was something I had dreamed of, taking a national team into a competitive tournament like Italy. I wouldn’t have missed that opportunity, very proud to have taken Wales there.’ Known as Con Il Patrocinoio Di Sport Sud, Wales played in Rimini and sponsors paid all the expenses of the teams competing, but like a similar tournament in 1978, once more not recognised by UEFA, or FIFA that seemed out of sorts with the Italian organisers. Sylvia’s Wales were defeated by Sweden 3-0 on 19 July with a 12-noon kick-off, and the Netherlands 2-0 on 21 July.

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The Final between Denmark and Italy in Naples attracted a crowd of 15,000 with the Danes victorious as 2-0 winners. Sylvia would sometimes walk with a cane. She told John Carrier: ‘I was about 35 or 36 I had an accident when I fell down stairs, so couldn’t play anymore…although I did a walking football match not too long ago with Alan Shearer and Harry Kane from Tottenham. It’s on YouTube, that was fun but I was sore the next day…I’m troubled with sciatica in my right leg, which means I need a frame to walk with or a wheelchair at times…which isn’t me I like to be up and active!’ During 1982–83, there were no games for Wales; ironically this was a time when the first UEFA Women’s Championships qualifiers were played with England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland all competing why not Wales? ‘As with any sport money is an important issue, like with Wales the finances just weren’t there to help progress the sport and I look at the millions coming into the game but very little gets filtered down to the women’s game.’ A report in the Liverpool Echo, Wednesday, 23 November 1983, Sylvia is mentioned as being selected to play for an England 1973 team against the current England team in a five-a-side match at Empire Pool Wembley in celebration of her twenty-five years in football. It also mentions her being the manager Wales (her fourth year in charge) and of Deeside Ladies playing in the Merseyside and Wirral League as well as manager of the Leagues squad when they would compete against other Leagues that would take place across the country. It also stated she would occasionally lace-up her boots for the Deeside team when required at the age of thirty-nine years. Sylvia’s final game for Wales was a fixture in Huyton at the Prescot Leisure Centre up against Liz Deighan’s England U21’s a game that was raising funds for Whiston Hospital’s CAT Scanner appeal. From a WFA Officers report in 1988, a request from the Welsh women’s national squad manager to request if the game could go ahead on Sunday, 2 April 1989, requesting some assistance with costs involved. This was agreed to and Sylvia would be dutifully informed the game attracted some 400  in attendance and resulted in a 4-0 defeat. Technically this was Sylvia’s last game in charge, although she would endeavour to keep the Wales team active with a Past Wales team against a Present Wales team on Sunday, 24 July 1990 with the present team winning 2-0. Sylvia would assist her former England team mate Wendy Owen at Tranmere Rovers Ladies, cover a number of positions at Liverpool Ladies, and manage the England U16’s girls’ team. She became the first Director of Liverpool County Football Association and served for twenty years on the FA Women’s Football Committee. Sylvia was awarded the MBE in 2013 for services to women’s and girls’ football.31 This was followed by her induction in 2014 into

31  BBC Sporting Witness ‘Sylvia Gore and the Start of Women’s Football’ https://www.bbc. co.uk/programmes/p02vsrtt accessed 14 December 2022.

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the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, in Manchester.32 Sylvia passed away aged seventy-one in September 2016.33 When Sylvia’s legacy number and cap were awarded in October 2022 at Wembley, I met several of her cousins who proudly attended to mark her memory.

Pat Davies I have met Pat Davies on a number of occasions in Southampton and at Wembley. This in-depth interview was conducted on those occasions, with details filled in by phone in December 2022. Pat played football with the local boys from the age of five. Born in Netley, Hampshire, in 1955, the younger of two sisters, her elder sibling did not share her enthusiasm, preferring ‘girly’ activities. Pat was spotted and joined Patstone United, run by Dave Case, along with Lynda Hale who she had played football with at school. Thought this she thought was fantastic, with proper nets in goal, training sessions, and so on unlike previously just playing in the street or on the Common. Dave had previously trained men and played at Scholing FC, so Pat remembered that as a twelve-year-old she found the training hard, with lots of running and fitness. Earning the nickname ‘Thunder’ for her strikes, relative to her small frame, Davies was a prolific and clinical striker. Southampton had a vibrant scene, perhaps one of the strongest in the country with Real, Sue Lopez’s team, Inter, a team from a bookmakers sponsored by the owner, Charlie Maliazia, the Sunny Saints comprised of women from a local insurance company. Other teams reflected places where women primarily worked like Royex of the Royal Telephone Exchange, and Flame United the regional Gas Company, before British Gas was formed, the Mini Cab Maidens who answered the phones for a mini cab company in Totton, and the Western Dynamos. Then in 1967, a regional representative Southampton side was formed using many of the best players from these teams, and Pat made her debut in a 9-0 win over Ipswich at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley, and Pat was one of the scorers, along with Sue Lopez, Jill Long, and Dot Cassels. These regional matches continued against Coventry, Norwich, and Ipswich as Southampton compared themselves nationally against other players. The League select team became Southampton WFC when the WFA were concerned that other club sides were playing a regional representative league team and fined them £20 for not being a club. Pat told me that she went to Italy with Harry Batt’s side to the unofficial Women’s World Cup there. Captained by Joan Briggs, with Janice Seymour and Louise Cross. It was tremendously exciting to be going abroad to play football, she remembered, taking the train from Waterloo to join the boat over 32  Sylvia Gore https://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/halloffame/sylvia-gore/ accessed 14 December 2022. 33  Fa Deeply Saddened by the Loss of Sylvia Gore https://www.thefa.com/news/2016/ sep/09/fa-deeply-saddened-by-loss-of-sylvia-gore-mbe accessed 14 December 2022.

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and the train again to Turin at the age of fifteen. The specifics of the trip remain hazy, but Pat knew the standard of football was excellent, the crowds were large, and everything felt much more professional than she had so far experienced. Even more exciting, Southampton had beaten the mighty Manchester Corinthians to win the 1969 Deal tournament, with Pat scoring twice. Pat contributed another goal in a 1969 4-0 win against Fodens, and took the first WFA Mitre trophy (or Women’s FA Cup) in 1971 beating Scotland’s Stewarton and Thistle 4-1 at Crystal Palace, with Davies securing a hat-trick and Dot Cassell completing the win. Managed initially by Norman Holloway, then also Mike Harvey, Eric Aldersay, Noel Coffin, and Charlie Clarke, Southampton would go on to take six of the first eight finals. Prior to the 1973 WFA Mitre Cup final Davies had scored forty-four goals in sixteen domestic games. By now, Pat was working as a valuations clerk and when she came up against goalkeeper Hazel Bancroft leading Fodens again in 1974, it was Southampton’s turn to lose 2-1, to a team that included her England compatriots Sheila Parker, Alison Leatherbarrow, Sylvia Gore, Pat Firth, and Jeannie Allott. The team was managed by the redoubtable Elsie Cook, by now banished from managing women’s football in Scotland by the SFA. After the selection tournament for England, Pat thoroughly enjoyed the good level of coaching at Loughborough College led by Eric Worthington. Although she didn’t score in her first match for England, Pat scored twice against France in a 3-0 victory in 1973, and twice more against Scotland at Nuneaton’s Manor Park. John Adams was also a very thorough coach, and Pat enjoyed his tuition. Under Tommy Tranter, she scored twice again in March 1974, in a 5-0 win over Wales, and repeated the feat in May 1974 against the Netherlands. This was backed by a further goal in a 2-0 win over France at Plough Lane. By the time of England’s tenth match, and first loss to Sweden, Davies was not selected again which seems surprising given her consistency at club and international level. At Southampton, Davies scored an extra time winner in the 2-1 Mitre Cup Final game against QPR, so her ability to score big goals at the right time was never in question. Pat retired just four short years after, a little disenchanted, having felt that she had achieved everything she could in her club career, and at the international level, including going to a world cup. Pat still keeps herself extremely fit, having moved on to her other sporting enthusiasms, squash, badminton, tennis, and, now, dog walking. She had lost contact with a lot of players until our Women’s Euros reunion in 2022 at Sea City Southampton. Being back in contact and sharing memories is, she told me, ‘wonderful!’

Jeannie Allott I met Jeannie Carol Allott at Wembley twice for FA events and at the BBC Bitzsize filming of the anniversary of the first England-Scotland match. As raconteurs go, Jeannie deserves her own TV special. I had the great honour in

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the approach to the 50-year anniversary of the England-Scotland game of having dinner with Jean Hunter/Stewart, Linda Mellon and Rose Reilly and Jeannie Allott, Lynda Hale and Sue Whyatt. None of the old rivalry had dissolved in fifty years and it was a lively occasion. Several WFA personnel and I had tried to track Jeannie down for twenty years, as she had moved to the Netherlands. This is a composite interview of those occasions, followed up by a phone interview in December 2022, to fill in detail. Born in 1956, in Crewe, Jeannie’s grandfather was a prominent speedway rider in Sheffield, Tommy Allott, a national league champion in 1935 and 1936, and connecting later with New Zealand’s Ivan Mauger, widely considered the best speedway rider of the twentieth century, who came to the UK in 1957. Her brother was also a very good footballer. By the age of eight, Jeannie was playing for Wistaston Green Primary School, scoring two goals on her debut made her something of an overnight sensation, reported in Sports Illustrated in the USA on 29 November 1965, especially when the ban on girls playing in schools was reinforced the next year.34 Alongside a photograph of Jeannie, the article reads: ‘Jean Allott, 8, a Crewe, England schoolgirl, scored two goals in her debut at center forward for the Wistaston Green Primary School boys’ soccer team. Said her headmaster, “She passes intelligently with her left foot and goes into the tackle as hard as any of the boys.”’ This story was syndicated, and replicated by local and national press. This bought a degree of fame, and Jeannie couldn’t remember nearly sixty years later if she went on Blue Peter or her photo appeared on Blue Peter and the feat was reported. She also couldn’t recall the exact occasion that she was invited to referee a match with George Best, but does recollect that it was a short stint of officialdom ‘lasting about two minutes’, because George was more interested in the older female players, and soon found new friends, leaving refereeing to Jeannie. What she did remember is how kind Bobby Charlton was to her. Again, unsure of how the invitation came to be made but she thinks through his manager; Jeannie and her Mum were invited in 1965 by Bobby to go to the cinema in Crewe to see a musical comedy called Billie. The protagonist, teenager Billie Carol, can outrun all the guys on the school track team. The message was clear. But it was lost on Jeannie who found the cinema warm and dark and so slept through the movie. Bobby though was charming, asking for her autograph, giving his own autograph and a white football, and the biggest box of chocolates Jeannie had ever seen. Years later, Jeannie cannot remember the whereabouts of the football but distinctly recalls the kindness, compassion, and gentlemanly behaviour of the football star. By thirteen, left-footed winger Jeannie had joined Fodens with the great Sylvia Gore and others playing in 1968–1969 at Sandbach. Playing against 34  Bill Long ‘Jeannie Allott: Faces in the Crowd,’ Sports Illustrated, 29 November 1965 101. https://vault.si.com/vault/1965/11/29/43103#&gid=ci0258c0e0f00826ef&pid=43103%2 D%2D-107%2D%2D-image accessed 7 December 2022.

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St Helens and the likes of Liz Deighan, Jeannie regularly played in the Netherlands and felt that the level of competition was superior there. Her playing style was built on speed, tricky footwork, and strength. She was to play her club football for Fodens until 1976, winning player of the match when they beat Southampton in the WFA Mitre trophy. Jeannie was only sixteen in 1972, and all the other England players remembered that she had travelled alone to meet her England team mates from Crewe, hitch-hiking to Waterloo Station, London, before meeting up with the four Southampton players. The confusion around the third goal scored by Allott is cleared up by a film showing that she scooped a partly cleared corner from the left hand side of the penalty area into a high-lobbed shot that Janie Houghton, the Scottish keeper, palmed over the line, unable to read the flight of the ball, or save the force of the strike.35 Pat Davies was close by, had there been a rebound, but the goal is clearly Allott’s. At sixteen years, she is England’s youngest senior goal scorer. The same film also shows that Rose Reilly’s goal, the second for Scotland, direct from a corner kick was intended as such, and a brilliant strike. Allott and Reilly enjoyed recounting their goals in some detail at our dinner. Very brief BBC footage, with partial commentary, although missing England’s second half goals, also confirms that Sylvia Gore’s memory of picking the ball up on the half-way line and running the length of the Scottish half to score was accurate, and even more impressive, she beats three defenders and the keeper to score with considerable composure.36 There was no money for accommodation when going to, and returning from England duty, and after one international, Jeannie stayed alone all night on Waterloo train, before hitch-hiking back home to Crewe. She reportedly had a knife in her bag to feel safe. ‘Thumbing it’ as Jeannie called it, she hitch-­ hiked for Fodens, so was used to doing that to represent her team. There was, she told me, just no money. To risk personal safety for a national team was incredibly committed. But there was more. By 1976, Jeannie had moved to the Netherlands for good, obtaining work as a shipping planner. Joining club side Zwart-Wit ’28, she came from Rotterdam at her own expense to meet up with the England squad in France for 0-0 draw vs. France, in Longjumeau, February 1977 where she was reported as the ‘top star’ of the team. She felt that she was appreciated and supported in the Netherlands, more than in England, and moved there because she loved football so much. So she changed her whole lifestyle. At Rotterdam, she found like-minded players, treated with more respect than back in England and at KFC ’71 in Delft, Jeannie played alongside Sarina Wiegman in the 1987–1988 season, and I had mentioned to Sarina that we were looking for Jeannie in 2021. 35  British Movietone ‘Ravenscraig Stadium Greenock-Scotland 23 November 1972’ AP Archive http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/WOMEN-S-INTERNATIONAL-SOCCER/715023c9c 34048c19159559ff2b6fdeb accessed 7 December 2022. 36  BBC News Rewind Archive ‘Women’s Football Scotland v England’ 18 November 1972 https://bbcrewind.co.uk/asset/627ba2119cbc5500212cb815?q=England%20women%20football%20v%20Scotland%201972 accessed 7 December 2022.

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After playing eleven of the first twelve matches for England, with the exception of the Switzerland game, this dedication to travel for her country at her own expense became too much. It is worth reminding ourselves that she had been classed as a schoolgirl in 1972, but after becoming established in women’s football in the Netherlands, she was called up for their national team in 1987, for the European Competition for Women’s Football qualifiers, scoring a goal on her debut for her adopted country, and a hat-trick on the return fixture against France obtaining twelve caps in all. Although the Netherlands wasn’t in the mix for the finals of the Euros in the 1980s when Allott played, she told me she retired at the end of the decade, as she had achieved everything she set out to do in football. Although she was invited out to Japan for the invitational tournaments out there, she was afraid to fly and had a fantastic career, as is summarised by this brief overview. I personally was so honoured to meet this football legend, after all the years of looking for her.

Jean Wilson Manchester Corinthians Jean Wilson was 24 at the time of the first England match. Having played against French champions Reims, in 1970, and won the Deal Tournament, Corinthians were one of the best sides in the country. Jean was surprised to be selected and injured soon after the first match. This was devastating she told me because sport was her life. A testament to the lack of sports science around at the time.

Substitutes Wendy Owen Wendy was 18 at the first England vs. Scotland match, and was an unused substitute, later reaching 16 caps for her country. She remembers the spectators numbering 400, on what was a bitterly cold day. She remembered a ‘bit of a do’ with the Scottish team afterwards which she remembered fondly. The hotel in Scotland was a wedding venue, in which women were not allowed to wear trousers, so Wendy had to go out and buy a skirt, as she didn’t own one. She made her international debut against France in April 1973, when Pat Davies scored a brace, and Eileen Foreman the third for a 0-3 victory in Stade de Brion, Chateauroux. The first overseas match was therefore promising, and players were excited to be going abroad to represent their country. Playing Owen at number 5, this match was also the debut for Julia Manning (now Brunton), from Lowestoft, at number eleven, as Jean Wilson was injured to such an extent that her debut in 1972 was the only cap. Eileen Forman came off the subs bench to score on her debut, and this would set a pattern for so many women to come, and be inspired by their first cap also to hit the back of the net. Maggie Miks (now Hobson) of Coventry Bantams also made her debut as a substitute, in front of the 3000 spectators in France who had paid

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the equivalent of £1.50 for their entrance tickets. Other than the four debuts, and Wilson’s injury, the team was little changed: 1. Sue Buckett, 2. Janet Bagguley, 3. Pat Davies, 4. Morag Kirkland, 5. Wendy Owen debut, 6. Sheila Parker, 7. Lynda Hale, 8. Paddy McGroarty, 9. Jeannie Allot, 10. Sylvia Gore, 11. Julia Manning, and subs Eileen Forman and Maggie Miks. Owen played again in a WFA England vs. Possibles trial at Eastwood Town on 20 May 1973, ahead of the next international against Scotland at Nuneaton Borough FC. In this 8-0 win, Pat Firth, of Fleece Fillies and Fodens, made her debut and scored England women’s first hat-trick with goals in 23, 41, and 68  min. Paddy McGroarty scored from the penalty spot. Pat Davies added two more, and single goals came from substitutes Julia Manning, and Eileen Foreman. Sue Lopez was non-playing substitute and in her book doesn’t remember Julia Manning’s goal.37 Sue says the scorers were Pat Firth 3, Paddy McGroarty 2, Pat Davies 2, and Eileen Foreman 1. Since at the time of writing Sue is hospitalised with dementia, it is not possible to ask her, but otherwise her book is a very reliable source. Edinburgh Dynamo’s Sheila Begbie, part of the exhausted Scottish defence, would go on to become an indefatigable leader at the SFA and advocate of women’s football in Scotland for many years before moving into the development of rugby. By now, the interim caretaker manager was John Adams, with help from Allen Wade, who had reportedly asked Adams to take over on a bus returning from Heathrow. By now, Eric Worthington had been offered a chance to become director of coaching by the Australian Football Association and revised the entire structure of football coaching in the region, also coaching the Papua New Guinea national team during their 1976 Olympic qualifiers. He was later inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1999 for services to coaching. In 1975, Worthington took charge of the men’s senior team for four friendlies at B level. I have been advised by a WFA official that the Scotland game above was Tommy Tranter’s first game as England coach assisted by Adams, but the WFA notes of the time say Adams’ record was managed two and won two. Whatever the case, Tranter was in sole charge by the time of the September fixture at Bath City FC, a 5-1 victory over Northern Ireland. I’ll return to this, as there were again different reports as to who should be credited with a goal. Before that though, how did Wendy Owen come to join the England team? In 1968, Wendy Owen had to leave the boys’ team she had played on when they joined an FA-affiliated league. She persuaded her father to form a girls’ team in nearby Beaconsfield, who played various other local girls’ teams with unregistered referees and on pitches which fell outside the FA’s jurisdiction. Underwhelmed with the level of competition, Owen left to join a superior team in Thame near the end of season 1969–1970, and then became player manager at Dartford Teacher Training College, and ended her career at the University of Chester. As a young woman, Wendy was a big fan of George Best,  Sue Lopez Women on the Ball: A Guide to Women’s Football (London: Scarlet Press, 1997) p. 94.

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whom she met at Wembley as part of the send-off to the Scotland match, along with Geoff Hurst, and was excited to have brushed past Best with her knee. Both male players were complimentary of the five-a-side match that was played as part of the preparations. Readers who are interested in Wendy’s longer career can read her autobiography Kicking Against Tradition: A Career in Women’s Football, Tempus Publishing, released in 2005. Sue Whyatt Sue played with lads for years, and then for Macclesfield Ladies, Sue had a career as a police officer which meant that she eventually had to give up England football, although there were meant to be specific amounts of time given over to maintaining fitness. Sue had a sister, and her Dad had always encouraged her to do as she wished, so long as she was happy. Not only was she regularly denied her exercise allowance, but when selected for England was often denied time off to play, should she be required to attend a case involving women or children as there were so few female police officers. Sue has a great line that the lads on the street chose her to go in goal, and she played on tarmac diving in the road outside her house. She expressed a great sense of responsibility, aged sixteen, to just put on an England shirt. There was, she recalled, a bit of a collision in the goalmouth but did not ultimately get on. Most of the other players were in their twenties, and Sue reflected that, at her age, it would have been a big responsibility to shout at the outfield defence players, and tell them what to do. A lot of resilience was also required to get the respect of the older players. Sue reminded me that goalkeeper coaching would take much longer to develop in the England set-up. Sue enjoyed the coaching at England camps, but as the substitute keeper sat on the bench more than she played eventually winning a single cap. Her debut came in England’s third game against Scotland in 1973 at Nuneaton when she was subbed on, although no one recalls the timings. Although she was still part of the England set-up in 1974, younger goalkeepers like Debbie Smith, who did not have the same work commitments as Sue, began to take over as squad members. As she began to combine family commitments with a professional life, other priorities took over, although Sue reminds me that still today her grandson insists upon a kick-about in the back garden. A real pioneer, not just for football but for women in the police service, and in traditionally male professions. Other substitutes on the first game were Pat Firth, Julia Manning/Brunton, Eileen Foreman, and Maggie Miks. Now known as Pat Mitchell-Firth, and originally from Leeds, Pat made her debut and scored a hat-trick in England’s first official home match against Scotland in June 1973  in Nuneaton. The Fodens player was just sixteen when she scored the historic hat-trick. Playing eleven times for England, and scoring nine goals, she was forced to retire at just twenty-one years of age due to cartilage injury. A driving instructor for her

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career, Pat was one of the first to be given her unique legacy number at Wembley in 2022. Julia Manning, now Brunton, would have a relatively short England career, debuting against France in 1973, and scoring in her next match against Scotland. In her final match against Wales in March 1974, she got her second international goal. Julia started playing locally in Lowestoft, and would occasionally have football and touch rugby games at school. The It’s a Knockout television franchise was an unlikely supporter of women’s football generally, and its presenter Hughie Green even more of a surprise given his onscreen persona as an affable, if slightly suspect, second-hand car salesman. But as part of the local team, Julia was then asked to be part of an exhibition five-a-side match, out of which Lowestoft Ladies was created. Two years later, she was at England trials. She went to the Wembley five-a-sides, and although not picked was awed to be in the company of George Best and Geoff Hurst. Eileen Foreman would have had a longer and more sustained England career with today’s advances in elite psychology. The early story is not unusual. From the age of around five, she played football with the local boys in the park. This fun football set the tone for her enjoyment of the game, until she was about fifteen years of age and the Warminster Carnival Committee arranged a Ladies Charity Football Match to take place on the town ground. Trial sessions surprised Eileen who didn’t know many other girls who played and it was definitely a milestone in the area for greater visibility, and a local success. Warminster Ladies Football Club was formed and many girls turned up for regular training and matches arranged locally. Eileen’s Dad took over as manager which was a wonderful family time and the team played in the newly formed Western League. A very successful club career followed, enjoying enthusiastic supporters and dedicated volunteers. Although selected, Eileen found the England set-up difficult. Beginning at junior school, having to stay in a classroom with many others was difficult, and this agoraphobia carried on right through until she left school at fifteen and into early jobs. Counselling helped, but Eileen was afraid of admitting to the condition, worried that it would exclude her from being picked at any level of the game. The trauma though, was worth it, for the feeling of walking out before a match with an England shirt on. Eileen loved playing football and was so proud to play for England. Allowing for a couple of substitutions yet to be confirmed, I estimate she played for England between 16 and 18 times, scoring between ten and twelve goals which is an incredible goal-to-game ratio. She scored on her debut against France in 1973 and came off the bench again to score in the next game vs. Scotland. She has been credited as having two goals against Northern Ireland in 1973, of the eight that England scored, playing as number eight, but other sources contest this. Having played twice more against the Netherlands, she dropped out of the squad from June 1974 until April 1977, when she returned against Switzerland to score a brace of headers as a number nine. She kept this shirt, scoring once again vs. Wales, and twice the Republic of Ireland in 1978. In 1979, Eileen netted again against Denmark,

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but as a number four, and the next year as a number ten added another to her tally against Wales. Her final goal came for the Republic of Ireland in May 1981, by which time she had overcome the agoraphobia to travel to Japan for the Portopia Tournament, and her last game against Norway on 25 October 1981. Finally, Maggie Miks, now Hobson, again played with local boys, chipping in to buy the football, in her local town of Coventry. One of seven children, she could not have access to a pair of football boots unless they were hand-me-­ downs. This mixed football she thought made her stronger and able to hold off opponents in a tackle. After youth five-a-side at a local multi-sport venue, she was invited to join Coventry Bantams women’s team. As we’ve seen in previous examples, it was not uncommon to do this as a teenager. The Heart of England League had a tournament and from this, Maggie was selected for England trials. Desperately wanting a pair of new football boots, Maggie sold her car for £30 to buy them, much to the consternation of her parents. After debuting in the 1973 match against France, Maggie played at number eight against Scotland, in the 8-0 victory where she remembered that John Adams had trained the squad so hard at Lea Green in preparation they could hardly feel their legs on the day. Maggie was another of the players to go to the Empire Pool Wembley five-a-sides, and to brush past George Best’s knee, having the added bonus of sitting beside him. More for her daughters than herself, who played for Buxton and Chesterfield, Maggie pioneered football, at a time when sports injuries were left to the individual to deal with, and ultimately ended careers prematurely. International travel included to Switzerland, the Netherlands, and France, but after the 1975 Switzerland match, her career was ended due to an ankle injury.

Conclusion In conclusion, we have seen how a very tentative governing body struggled to control the sport for women from 1968 to the first match in 1972. We have also seen the similarities and differences in those first 11 women, who defied convention to represent England ‘officially’ in football in 1972. By this time, FIFA and UEFA began to become more involved in women’s football. A joint consultative committee of the WFA and FA also signalled greater institutional acceptance of women’s football. But it was grudging, slow and hardly a warm welcome. The WFA factionalism continued, along with contravening newly created rules. Hilary Carter and Dot Cassel were castigated for going out to Italy to play professionally, and received bans which were initially proposed at two and three years respectively.38 In the end, Carter served a ban of a year, but it seemed to matter little to the WFA that they lost players to the game, as well as amateur volunteer administrators, through such draconian measures. The 38  WFA Minutes Council Meeting Church House Westminster 7 April 1973 p.  3 author’s collection.

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unauthorised trip of Crystal Palace and QPR to Thailand caused more consternation. Pat Cavanagh of QPR was suspended for choosing the Thai trip over the scheduled Mitre Cup challenge game but allowed to re-stand on 1 September 1973 as a WFA officer having served the ban.39 Pat Gwynne, the WFA Vice Chair, had to resign as an officer and was then served a comparable ban of seven months.40 The 1967 Deal tournament, an important precursor to the WFA annual cup competition, was won by Dover GPO, followed in 1968 and 1969 by Manchester Corinthians, then Southampton in 1970, and Stewarton and Thistle in 1971. So when the first WFA England team was selected in 1972, we could have expected more players from the north to feature. Was there a Southern bias to the WFA operations, because many of their officers, such as Arthur Hobbs, Patricia Gregory, June Jaycocks were based in the south, while Flo Bilton came from Hull. Certainly, in the first years of the WFA Mitre Cup, Southampton took the trophy for three straight years from 1971 to 1973, then again in 1975 and 1976, 1978, and 1979, and 1981. In 1974, Fodens, from Sandbach took the title, in 1977, Queen’s Park Rangers, and in 1980, St Helens. Following this, the most successful team was Doncaster Belles. The WFA was also to remain poorer than a church mouse. Flo Bilton, a goalkeeper from Hull who became a WFA stalwart and gave many young women from the East Yorkshire area their opportunity to play football, hand-­ sewed the caps to mark the occasion of the first England-Scotland International. It was remarked at a meeting in 1973 that each cap was costing less than the required purchase price of £7 to produce, and it would be expected that a player would receive a hand-sewn keepsake for each appearance.41 This would prove to be optimistic for Flo could not keep up with making one for each player for each appearance, even as the number of international matches grew very slowly. In the end, most got one or two caps, and then had the remaining number of matches memorialised on a trophy shield upon retiring. The WFA were not alone in acting on a shoe-string. For the 1973 match against France, the French could only manage sixteen places for their guests. Even so, the WFA managed to send Patricia Gregory, Flo Bilton, and, as press officer, Roger Ebben, along with the players and coach. The entire England party were surprised at how well organised French women’s football was in comparison. With around 400 clubs and 7000 players, the continuity that was provided by the likes of Pierre Geoffroy at Reims ensured much greater media coverage as well. Had the WFA not banned Harry Batt as it did in 1971, he and Geoffroy, who had led the French women’s team in both the unofficial 1970 and 1971 world cups, could have traded experience. The tournament trial system of national team selection was used again in 1973, but this financially cheap method did not allow for loss of form or  WFA Minutes Council Meeting Church House 4 August 1973 p. 4.  WFA Minutes Council Meeting Great Western Hotel 8 October 1973 p. 4. 41  WFA Minutes Council Meeting Church House 7 April 1973 p. 5. 39 40

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recovery from injury. Record keeping was so precarious that in the 7 September 1973 match at Twerton Park, Bath City FC against Northern Ireland, the first women’s international to be played under floodlights in the newly ‘official’ era, there are two versions recorded of the goal-scorers. Firstly, we have WFA notes written at the time which list Foreman 2, Lopez 1, Hale 1, and an own goal. Other sources list Lynda Hale 2, Jeannie Allott, Pat Firth, and Sue Lopez with one goal each. It seems odd that Sue Lopez does not mention scoring in her book, but it may have been characteristic modesty. Certainly, a striker would remember that she had scored. Intriguingly also, the programme for the next match lists the top goal scorer at the end of 1973 as Davies 4, Firth 4, Hale 2, Foreman 2, McGroarty 2, Gore 2, Allott 2, Lopez 1 so it reflects some confusion at the time.42 Many of the players cannot now remember events almost fifty years ago. Though others most certainly can. The final match of 1973 was against the Netherlands at Elm Park, home of Reading FC, and so became the first to be played on a Football League ground since the 1921 FA ban, after the FA Council withdrew the prohibition officially at its meeting of January 1970.43 A single Paddy McGroarty goal kept the clean sheet for England followed by a 5-0 defeat of Wales at Slough Town FC where McGroarty again scored twice, and Manning, Davies, and Firth one each. The Wales match was sponsored by Dean’s Farm Eggs, in respect of which each player received a half-dozen in a box for her troubles. Again, this score is contested, and WFA notes credit Davies with a hattrick and one each from Hale and Lopez. Sue Lopez does not mention scoring in her book, just the eggs. England internationals regularly recorded a loss, even when sponsored. So it was with some trepidation that the first England vs. Wales match was scheduled in 1974 to cost £319.44 When it was reported at the same meeting that Ann O’Brien had become a professional footballer in Italy, it caused consternation that the Sports Council grant would have to be returned, in case it made the whole of the WFA lose its amateur status. Rose Reilly and Edna Nellis were not allowed to play in the Mitre Cup for similar reasons. An enormous over-­ reaction, but evidence of how fragile the nascent governing body was. By 11 May 1974, the question of England hosting a Women’s World Cup competition was still being debated with more heat than light. The idea that a profit could be made was the chief reason that the WFA was nervous, and although Leeds and Sheffield Universities offered the use of their Halls as accommodation for the teams, the Football League refused the use of its grounds for the proposed tournament. FIFA would have to approve the plans

42  WFA Programme 9 November 1973 England vs. The Netherlands British Library File 89306/4/1 and WFA news 3/09/73. 43  FA Council Minutes 2 January 1970 p. 5, author’s collection. 44  WFA Minutes Finance and General Purposes Committee Church House Westminster 9 February 1974 British Library File 89306/4/1.

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and the FA remained splendidly isolated from the developments.45 A sponsor was agreed upon, who wanted to be involved, and so it was agreed to meet the Women’s Cricket Association to find out how they had organised their own world cup in 1973. Further matches in 1974 included 31 May, against the Netherlands, at Stadspark Stadium Groningen with a brace from Davies and a Lopez goal. And finally on 7 November 1974, England beat France at Wimbledon 2-0, with goals from Davies and Lopez, but more promisingly, Moët & Chandon supplied the winners a magnum of Champagne, the best sponsorship yet. Although there would be only three games in 1975, they were a win over Switzerland and two defeats to Sweden. So this was a memorable year, when England’s relative lack of infrastructure and investment would be made obvious. On 19 April, against Switzerland in Basle, Sandra Choat would score a hat-trick, in a 3-1 defeat of the hosts. In the tenth international on 15 June at Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg Sweden would inflict a 2-0 defeat, and the first side to do this reinforced their superiority at Wimbledon FC on the return fixture on 7 September 1975, in a 3-1 win where only Liz Deighan managed to score in reply. Although 1976 began better with a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands at Borough Park, home of Blackpool Rugby Football Club, players like Alison Leatherbarrow were starting to change the squad. Quite why the most Northern match to date was played on a rugby ground no one can remember now, but it was indicative of how influential the FA ban on their own pitches had been. Elaine Badrock and Sandra Choat provided the goals, and this would be Sheila Parker’s last game as captain, a position she had held for nearly four years and twelve matches. To explain why the changes came, it is worth saying a little about Tommy Tranter and defender the next captain, Carol McCune. Tom Tranter had been born in Shropshire, a talented sporting all-rounder, particularly in football and cricket, having qualified as a junior for Wimbledon. He trained to become a maths teacher, followed by a year at Chester College training in physical education before working on London in the early 1960s for five years. He was manager and coach of several semi-professional clubs, including Woking and Slough Town, and was by the time of his appointment, an FA staff coach. He managed England women from September 1973 to 19 May 1979, by which time he was also an employee of the British Council. Soon after resigning from the England women’s head coach role, he coached Keflavik in Iceland, also travelling to India, Zambia, the Sudan, and Botswana in coach education. A prolific academic, he also worked at Brunel university for 34 years, retiring in 2002. So it is worth saying that the ‘in kind’ support of the FA included appointing coaches who were at the forefront of their profession, and progressive in outlook.

45  WFA Minutes Finance and General Purposes Committee Church House Westminster 10 August 1974 British Library File 89306/4/1.

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As for Carol McCune, who would take over the captaincy from Sheila Parker, she was born in 1955, as part of a sports-loving family along with her two brothers, and her Dad, in particular, playing football in Hull.46 Carol would go on to become the first English woman to win fifty caps for her country, at a time when the schedule of women’s matches did not yet include a World Cup (the first was in 1991), or an Olympic tournament (to follow in 1996). When Carol was growing up, the inimitable, and indomitable, Flo Bilton ran a women’s team nearby, called Reckitt and Coleman, one of several women’s works football teams in the region, including British Oil and Cocoa Mills (BOCM). At eleven, inspired by England’s World Cup win in 1966, Carol took her football more seriously and joined the women’s team, BOCM. Flo Bilton had played as a goalkeeper for Reckitt since the 1940s, and developed women’s football around Hull, as well as at the WFA. Tommy Tranter invited Carol for the England trials and she won her first cap on 7 November 1974 when she came on as a substitute, at Wimbledon, playing against France, aged nineteen. ‘It was absolutely amazing just to get the letter telling me I had been selected’, Carol tells me, ‘then to go to England training at Crystal Palace, to pull on the shirt and sit in the dug-out made me so proud, so when I actually got onto the pitch, it was my footballing dream.’ In February 1974, the FA had granted its first £300 towards a coaching course, led by Tommy, the culmination of an idea which had initially been launched by Joan Briggs, the captain of the unofficial Harry Batt England team in 1970. Joan was not successful in progressing through the England trials, presumably because of her association with Batt, as none of the women he led on overseas tours would make an ‘official’ England team.47 This did not deter Joan from still playing and campaigning for women’s football aged forty-four, many years later, before becoming a Conservative councillor in the Midlands. Flo Bilton oversaw the coaching course with Pauline Dickie, Carol McCune, and Jayne Talbot passing first time, while Pauline Brumwell, Kath Everitt, Sue Lopez, and Wendy Owen required further credits, specifically on the Laws of the Game, to pass. More England games followed for Carol McCune in 1975, against increasingly exotic opponents, like Switzerland, and then, in May 1976, Tommy asked her to take on the captaincy, from Sheila Parker just weeks before her twenty-­ first birthday. I observed that maybe her performance at the coaching course had shown her ability to read a game and lead others? Carol replied, ‘I think that’s right.’ Carol agreed, ‘I could read a game and see what people were going to do, even before they did it, or perhaps knew they were going to do it. But also I was a good trainer, I worked hard, and I listened to what the coaches were saying, trying always to improve my game. I was a calming influence and I tried to lead by example.’  Interview with Carol McCune/Thomas 20 January 2021.  Interview with Joan Briggs 18 October 2018.

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The captaincy was a long-term honour. Carol played until 1985 when she retired to have her children. Before then she had the good fortune of Hull City allowing her to train with the male Under-19s on Tuesdays and Thursdays to keep her skills and fitness sharp. As a valued Northern Dairies employee, her employer was also supportive. Like others, she also did long stints on the motorways and A roads to play at the highest female club level she could to maintain her England place, including at CP Doncaster, Preston, and Rowntrees (York). Today, Carol has two hand-made Flo Bilton England caps in her collection and was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum, and received a British Empire Medal, a recognition long overdue for the first English woman to win fifty caps for her country. Today, the England women’s senior squad competes in camp for the Carol Thomas cup, an award they fight over in quizzes, in training, and in darts competitions, so an overlooked hero is now better recognised. Back in 1975–1976 though already in post on a casual basis, Jane Talbot was invited to become the England team physiotherapist. Once the coaching award had been given, Denis Follows, the FA Secretary issued certificates. The first women preliminary licences had been won, and similar grounds were being contested in refereeing and in the media. Former Chair of the Professional Footballer’s Association, Jimmy Hill was supportive in November 1974 and a very young Richard Yallop of The Guardian wrote about financial aspects of women’s football. Yallop, primarily a tennis aficionado, moved to Australia in 1979, and was a greatly respected writer.48 By the time of the Home International Championship in May 1976, sponsored by the makers of Babycham sparkling wine, and Pony Wine, change amongst the governing bodies of football remained glacial at best. FIFA had approved the idea of a European competition in 1974, which would eventually be launched in 1982. Instead, the Pony Home International Championship sought to connect Wales, England, and Scotland, sponsored by Showerings, makers of Babycham and Pony, both alcoholic drinks aimed at women. It was a very modest substitute for the squandered world cup proposed by Harry Batt and FIEFF. But for Carol McCune, it was her first captaincy, beginning with a 4-0 win over Wales at Bedford Town on 22 May 1976, with goals for England by Pat Firth of Doncaster Belles, a brace for Elaine Badrock of Prestatyn, and twenty-two-year-old Lowestoft debutant Angela Poppy scoring after coming off the bench. In this match, Tommy Tranter used five new players: in addition to Angela Poppy were Linda Coffin, twenty years of age, from Southampton; Cathy Hamstead, of Kilnhurst, aged seventeen (now Bird): Debbie Smith, of Preston North End, aged fifteen (now Cowell), and Audrey Rigby of Rangers Nottingham aged eighteen, and we think her only cap. This indicates that more players from the North were now in the mix for the England squad, although the captaincy had always been a Northern player. It was not until Debbie Bampton took over from Carol McCune, by then Carol Thomas, in  British Library WFA Archive MS 89306/2/26 25/4/Minutes November 1974 p. 1.

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1985 that the captaincy would be led by a Southern player, and a London-­ based captain at that. The Scotland match was a 5-1 win on 23 May 1976, with a Pat Firth hat-trick, and goals from Lorraine Dobb and Pat Chapman, another debutant from Southampton aged nineteen. England had thereby won the first Home International Championship. An Italian tour followed, showing the relative strength of support that had developed due to the Italian leagues. There were two flood relief matches scheduled for England, the first a 2-0 defeat in Rome at the Flaminio Olympic Stadium in front of 10,000 spectators, and the second a 2-1 defeat in Cesena, with Elaine Badrock scoring and Debbie Day making her debut at number 11. The squad included players who would not go on to make a full debut, and some others who would serve England as long-term players. Again, the printing on the programme is not great, but the list includes possibles listed as Maureen Dawson of Thame, Ann Hyde of Houghton, Sue Humphreys of Teynham Gunners, Jill Staples from the London team (some name beginning with G but the rest is illegible), Jackie Green of Horam, and Janet Milner of Doncaster Belles. As individuals had to largely self-fund, and take time off work or school, there is a degree of dedication here that should be applauded. The year 1976 was rounded off with a 2-1 win over Wales at Ebbw Vale Rugby Club. Raynor Hadden and Elaine Badrock were the goal-scorers. In 1977, the France fixture was a 0-0 draw, followed by a 9-1 defeat of Switzerland in which Pat Chapman scored a hat-trick, Eileen Foreman two, and a resurgent Sheila Parker also two goals. New important players like Linda Curl debuted, and scored, and Janet Milner came on as goalkeeper against Scotland, where Sue Buckett’s experience was much missed as England suffered their first 2-1 loss to their old rivals, thanks only to a goal which has again been contested but is usually attributed retrospectively to Pat Chapman. A 5-0 defeat of Wales followed, and England then hosted Italy at Wimbledon FC, seeing their biggest sponsorship deal to date, with kits provided by Mitre sports, and Banbury sportswear, and a trophy provided by Pontin’s Ltd. The largest sponsorship so far of £1000 had been personally approved by Sir Fred Pontin, of the holiday chain, and a direct rival to Butlins who had for so long hosted women’s tournaments, but would not affiliate to the WFA. This would be outdone in a 1978 game against Belgium at the Dell, Southampton, where Martini & Rossi sponsored a 3-0 win to the tune of £2000, and 5471 spectators attended the first England senior women’s match at a Football League First Division Ground, with two Elain Badrock goals and a Belgian own goal providing the entertainment. Ron Greenwood attended, as current England men’s manager.49 A young future captain, Debbie Bampton, had debuted the previous match, a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in Vlissingen, evidence of change as Bagguley, Gore, Owen, Davies, and Hale retired that year. Although not directly related to the history of the England women’s football team, it is important to consider the Theresa Bennett case which had a  British Library WFA Archive MS 89306/2/26 25/8/78 min 8 November 1978 p. 2.

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high profile in 1978 because it reached the Royal Court of Justice, to be heard by the Master of the Rolls, Lord Denning, Lord Justice Eveleige, and Sir David Cairns.50 In 1977, Theresa Bennett, who was then eleven, and so by the time the case came to appeal was twelve, played football at Muskham School in Nottinghamshire and applied to become a registered member of the team Muskham United which played in the Newark Youth Football League. This would require Nottinghamshire County Football Association to accept her registration, which it declined to do, and the WFA agreed that mixed football was not to be accepted. Both Muskham and the Newark Youth league were willing to accept Theresa. It went to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), set up in the wake of the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975, and was referred by the EOC to Newark County Court. The judge ruled that Theresa had been discriminated against, and awarded £250 in damages as she had been in tears and upset by the decision, in respect of £200 for the denial of the opportunity to play, and £50 for injured feelings. In turn, the FA and Nottinghamshire County FA appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. The FA and Nottingham County FA case won its appeal, with Theresa being given very late notice that it was being heard, and, crucially, application for leave to appeal to the House of Lords refused by combined consent of Denning, Eveleige, and Cairns. This centred on Section 44 of the Sex Discrimination Act which gave exceptions, including sport saying: ‘Nothing in Parts I or II shall, in relation to any sport, game or other activity of a competitive nature where the physical strength, stamina or physique of the average woman puts her at a disadvantage to the average man, render unlawful any act related to the participation of a person as a competitor in events involving that activity which are confined to competitors of one sex.’51 So football was excepted from the statute in spite of Theresa’s being able to play on the same level as boys in her team. The ruling was also used by the FA to limit mixed football up to the age of 12 years, which stood for an awfully long time. The quasi-scientific nature of the argument was evident in a letter from the FA Chief Executive Graham Kelly to David Blunkett in 1998 when he argued that allowing girls to join mixed youth teams above that age may well inhibit the overall growth of girls football, and that by the age of 11 boys were already stronger, fitter, and faster than girls who might sustain more physical and psychological injury as a result.52 The FA therefore declined, without any data to support its view, to raise the age for mixed soccer to sixteen at this time. There was also a ruling that players over nine and under 50  The Supreme Court of Judicature Court of Appeal ‘Theresa Bennett v The Football Association and the Nottinghamshire Football Association’ 28 July 1978 Royal Court of Justice, London Plaint number 7800270 transcript author’s own collection p. 1, author’s collection. 51  The Supreme Court of Judicature Court of Appeal ‘Theresa Bennett v The Football Association and the Nottinghamshire Football Association’ 28 July 1978 Royal Court of Justice, London Plaint number 7800270 transcript author’s own collection p. 4. 52  Graham Kelly Letter Equal Opportunities Commission: Equality in the Twenty First Century Lancaster Gate, London 25 November 1998 pp. 2–3 author’s collection.

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fourteen must not play with those who are more than two years older, but players of fourteen years and older could play in open age football. This meant it was much more difficult to have girls’ teams unless the club could run teams with a two-year banding, requiring more volunteers.53 A very difficult situation with resources in such short supply. Its relevance for the England squad in 2022 remains, since very few girls first access football as a curriculum activity in schools, and so the player pyramid on which England’s future stars are drawn is so much less than it could be unless young girls can access girls teams in their local area. Then, there are questions of access if they do not have private transport in their family, to get to train and play, access to kit and training facilities, and so forth. The three judges cared little that it had limited Theresa’s opportunity to play than a general principle was upheld, and treated the matter as so trivial that it could not be open to an appeal. This reflected a general societal attitude to women’s football in England at this time and was a really unpleasant use of the full force of the law against a 12-year-old girl. The case was used again in 1981 when Jo Hughes was prevented from joining her local team as a registered player. QC David Pannick argued in his 1983 bulldozing of the Bennett appeal that mixed sport should be made available as a form of compensatory opportunity for the historical exclusion of women and girls, and his analysis of the legality of the arguments used to justify the appeal compelling.54 In drawing this section to a close, it is impossible to overestimate the number of girls and women who wrote to the FA asking either for them to overturn the limit on mixed age football generally or to make an exception in their case. These letters were dealt with summarily and in an abrasively official manner. Some contained petitions of support, and references, complaints from local MPs and employers or schools, and all said that there was no women’s or girls provision of the standard that the player was at. I have a heartbreaking box of this correspondence, equivalent to a paper ream of 500 sheets. Most of them just from the 1990s, and including the intervention of government ministers, including one from Catherine Boyle of Blackpool which was forwarded to the Prime Minister, John Major on 7 June 1995, which was met with the same intransigent response. Goodness knows how many are in the FA files. Each one an individual wanting one simple thing: a game of football. How many girls and women were lost to the sport? We’ll never know. The combined ruling that girls playing school-age football under twelve could play in mixed games, and not club football, which in turn had to be two years age bands, undoubtedly affected the access of potential future female England stars to their detriment into the twenty-first century. Although in March 1991, four years after Peter Hain wrote an article in The Guardian alleging that this was an example of sexual apartheid, the FA rescinded rule 37 53  Charles Hughes letter to Tony Willoughby of Ormistion Girls Football League Lancaster Gate London 18 April 1996, author’s collection. 54  David Pannick Sex Discrimination in Sport (London: Equal Opportunities Commission, 1983).

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preventing girls playing club football outside schools, but County FAs did not always comply. This is evidenced by the case of Olympian Ellen White, currently with 113 caps for England and 8 for the Great Britain Olympic team, Euro 2022 winner, and also England women’s leading goal-scorer, with fifty-two goals at the time of writing. On 23 September 1998, The Bucks Herald ran a front-page story about Ellen titled ‘Soccer girl banned by league for boys’.55 Explaining that she was then just nine years old, Ellen was already Arsenal girls Under-11 captain, but the Chiltern Youth League did not allow girls to register, and Ellen’s father John who Chaired Aylesbury Town FC wanted to challenge that ruling. This case also showed how piecemeal the application of the ruling was, as the Bedfordshire County FA did not allow mixed soccer, while Berks and Bucks did. The Chair of the league, Chris Davidson also acknowledged that, were an appeal successful, he would have to comply. So the rationale was not to protect Ellen, who had already scored 100 goals last season, but an arbitrary ruling. Imagine had Ellen not had parents supportive enough to take her to train at Arsenal, how differently this might have turned out. Policing gender boundaries has been a huge investment in FA resource, and to what end? As the decade drew to a close, Sara Pollard continued the tradition of scoring on her debut in 1979 in a 3-1 defeat to Denmark in Copenhagen, notable for being Tommy Tranter’s last match in charge. This meant that a planned tour to an Italian tournament was overseen by Cleveland Spartans manager John Sims, featuring a rather unexpected 3-1 loss to Finland in Sorrento, with confusion about who scored England’s goal. Sims appears to have filled in as Peter Warburton could not travel to commitments with Altrincham. Dorothy Carr acted as interpreter and England stayed at the Britannique hotel, after refusing a hostel initially offered by the hosts. There are also team photos of the San Germano hotel swimming pool. Both Pat Chapman and Linda Curl had birthdays in Italy. John and Jenny Bruton came out. Flo Bilton helped, as did Jane Talbot.56 A 2-0 victory over Switzerland thanks to Parker and Chapman, helped festivities, followed by a 3-1 defeat to Italy in Naples, saved only by a Linda Curl goal. While these notes refer to Pat ‘Vesuvia’ Chapman and indicate that a good time was had by all, the defeat to Italy resulted in the referee being punished for his poor decision making, so far as England was concerned, by being pushed into the swimming pool fully clothed.57 Having reached the final against Sweden, England drew 0-0 in normal time, and in the added extra time there was no change, and so to penalties. England conceded 3-4 with Wiseman, Curl, and Lopez scoring. Perhaps the experiment of having a goalkeeper as one of the first four penalty takers in a squad was intended to be revolutionary, but 55  Dean Jones ‘Soccer girl banned by league for boys’ The Bucks Herald 23 September 1998 front page. 56  British Library WFA Archive MS 89306/2/26 25/4/79 newsletter p. 3. 57  British Library WFA Archive MS 89306/2/26 25/4/79 newsletter with photographs.

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the innovation did not, on this occasion, work. This result was prescient, since when England lost to Sweden in the two-legged 1984 final of the inaugural UEFA women’s Euros (although it was not given that title, of which more later), the 4-3 loss on penalties would be the same result. However, by then management had evolved sufficiently to result in strikers and midfielders stepping up to the spot. For the final match of the 1970s, Mike Rawding took over as manager, and a 2-2 draw with Denmark at Hull City FC’s Boothferry Park saw Sheree Jameson make her debut at number ten, alongside the prolific Pat Chapman.58 She would become the 46th player to represent England in 31 WFA-recognised internationals. In the 1980s, England would have access to more international competitions and undertake more wide-ranging tours, but the modesty of expectation for amateur women’s football, and the paucity of resource in the 1970s would throw long shadows, even as the future brightened. Financially the WFA continued to struggle into the 1980s leading to a court case over liability, and the factions and schisms also remained. But for players, new media, like the Channel 4 television free to air broadcast television network, launched in 1982, gave new opportunities to see their sport on screen, even while the Murdochisation of the media, with the News of the World, and The Sun, regularly trivialising women including the notorious page 3 girl, and tabloidising women’s sport as irrelevant to their readers. The attitude to football in its editorial was little better. Margaret Thatcher may have become Britain’s first female Prime Minister in 1979, but she was not a fan of football, viewing it primarily as a law and order issue than a sport that might empower. Gradually, in 1991, it became clear that the WFA was financially holding back women’s football, and Robin Russell of the FA, as the assistant director for coaching and education, took gradual control for the Senior Women’s National team, in conjunction with the WFA officials. Linda Whitehead, with Chair Tim Stearn, was informed that there were plans to run a full senior side, an Under-21 team and an Under-16, possibly too an Under-18/19. Ted Powell was lined up to lead the seniors, assisted by Kim Moore, Ted Copeland the Under-21, assisted by Karen Gale, and Colin Murphy the Under-16, assisted by Sue Lopez.59 It was without any sense of either irony or humility, given its previous neglect and ban, that the FA sent a circular letter to all clubs affiliated to the WFA in May 1992, headed ‘Girls Football - The Way Forward For Your Club. The Football Association can help your club by providing you with all the necessary support material you would need to establish girls football, as part of your club’s structure.’60 58  The FA Legacy Numbers https://www.englandfootball.com/articles/2022/11/17/10/51/ england-women-legacy-numbers-launched-20221711 accessed 7 December 2022. 59  Robin Russell Letter to Linda Whitehead Meeting 11 April 1991 WFA archive, author’s collection 15 April 1991 p. 2. 60  Robin Russell Circular: Girls Football—The Way Forward For Your Club WFA archive, author’s collection 18 May 1992 p. 1.

CHAPTER 3

New Horizons for a New England: Thomas, Bampton, Coultard, Davis, Reagan

Introduction The aim of this chapter is to chart the changes of the England women’s national team as it entered the first UEFA competition for national teams in 1984, and then moved increasingly into FA control from 1993 onwards. Having failed to qualify for the first FIFA women’s world championship in 1991, England did make the 1995 Women’s World Cup Finals in Sweden. The trio of captains, Carol Thomas, Deborah Bampton, and Gillian Coultard were important in their longevity for the national team and as amateurs absolutely stalwart in their dedication. Long-term coach, Martin Reagan, is also analysed as integral to England’s success, and an oral history of Kerry Davis, the first player of Caribbean heritage, to play for the national women’s team is included. Due to space, not all the players could be covered in the same detail and other historians may make different choices. But these five individuals broadly reflect an increasingly professional approach to what was essentially an amateur sport, with only Kerry Davis able to earn a living as a professional footballer in Italy, in what was a brief career, which caused some logistical challenges in returning to play for her national team. Before looking at the oral histories of the individuals named above, a brief nine-page contextual section helps to set the background to what they experienced.

The Changing Context from WFA Leadership to FA Control In November 1980, the WFA admitted that its volunteer workforce was limiting the growth of women’s football as much as it was leading it. Linda Whitehead had commercial experience at Blackburn Rovers FC, and was appointed the first paid, full-time Secretary. It is surprising, then, that in 1981 the WFA was able to host a visiting Japanese contingent, who chose the mighty © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 J. Williams, Legendary Lionesses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36760-1_3

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Leicester City FC as venue of choice, to explore how they might better develop women’s football in their country. A 1981 visit to the Portopia tournament followed, and was perhaps the most innovative WFA overseas tour to date. A number of really exceptional England stars were finding some international success but found little depth of competition in the variable regional leagues. In 1983, for instance, England striker Linda Curl scored 22 times for Norwich in a 40-0 WFA Cup fixture against Milton Keynes. Also in the WFA Cup, Doncaster Belles were therefore overshadowed in their 33-0 bulldozing of Leek Leaders. International games were few and far between, so there was little reward for keeping oneself so fit. When England met the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 7 November 1982, it marked an occasion where there had been just 43 matches in the first 10 years of England women contesting internationals officially. Only when FIFA instructed their national associations to take greater responsibility for developing the women’s game in 1983, did the FA invite the WFA to affiliate, and this was finalised in May 1984. In 1984, England women reached the final of the first 1984 UEFA Competition For National Representative Women’s Teams, their first European competition for women’s football, losing in a two-legged final to Sweden. Firstly, this was so experimental that it was not given an official Euros title, and the justification often given is that with just 16 teams, less than half the UEFA membership at the time, not enough member associations entered to earn the name. The reason why that was, lay on the heavily male governance of football, who, at UEFA were concerned by a number of previous European tournaments dating back to 1957, not under their control, and run successfully by businessmen, and lawyers. In creating a women’s football committee in 1971, UEFA showed very little interest in facilitating internationals, and when the committee folded in 1978, no one much seemed to notice. Beginning in 1982, the qualification round of 16 lasted from August 1982 to October 1983. Denmark, England, Italy, and Sweden contested the four-team finals, held over two-legged semi-finals in April and May 1984, one at home, and one away. The finals between Sweden (Ullevi, Gothenborg) and England (Kenilworth Road) saw Sweden the eventual winners on penalties, the pitch being in such poor condition that added extra time could not be played, and so the outcome had a sudden death quality. The finals tournament was not to be expanded beyond four teams until 1997, when it increased to six, then to 12 teams in 2009, now 16 teams since 2016. In comparison the men’s Euros finals has been for 24 teams since 2016. Nevertheless, reaching the finals by beating the powerful Danish side was a significant milestone in the England women’s team receiving wider international recognition and the WFA trumpeted this in its newsletter that July, albeit reaching a minority audience.1 Denmark had been a world number one team at both unofficial and official tournaments, and their pedigree was sustained therefore. England approached the final with some trepidation, as they had 1

 WFA WFA News London: WFA 9 July 1984 p. 1, author’s collection.

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never beaten Sweden who were the current world number one. The difference between the Sweden-hosted Final leg, and the Luton Town fixture, which came to be called by Captain Carol Thomas the ‘Battle of Kenilworth Bog’ could not have been more stark. Goalkeeper Terry Wiseman was struck by the warmth of the media reception in Sweden, including being televised live by Sveriges Television (SVT) and drawing 5552 fans to the stadium. Swedish FA officials Lennart Johansson and Tord Brodd attended and the coach Ulf Lyfors was a full-time employee of the Swedish FA. This Swedish enthusiasm travelled back to Luton, with almost 40 Swedish media outlets present. The British media hardly registered the Luton Town fixture, and the pitch was so bad, it is unlikely that a major men’s tournament would have been played there. Some 2565 fans attended, but FA officials, Ted Croker and Bert Millichip, did not. But the beggars of the WFA could not be choosers, and Kenilworth Road was the best they could manage, even though the playing surface made any attempt at sophisticated football impossible. It was typical that preparation for such European matches might involve a weekend’s training, and not always at good facilities like Lilleshall, more likely at a leisure centre in Batley, and the entire squad in sleeping bags, either in one room in a gym, or several rooms in a hostel. The last 14 days before the final was well planned by Martin Reagan, the manager, but he was hamstrung by lack of funds. Hardly elite preparation for a major tournament. England coach Martin Reagan was very much part time, and had a full time job for a York-­ based veterinary supplies firm. The Swedes handed out kits and Adidas-endorsed spare training gear to their English counterparts. As quoted in Etoe and Sollohub’s Three Lions on Her Shirt, Gill Coutard ‘snapped their hands off!’2 There was certainly to be no Wembley-based final in England, although a six-a-side ‘exhibition’ match before the Charity Shield in August 1984 was offered as a concession. There were real WFA fears that the England leg would be forfeited, as a ground could not be found, and eventually, Swedish ball-bearing manufacturer SKF, which sponsored the match day programme at Kenilworth Road made the connection to Luton Town. However, the football industry was beginning to change in the mid-1980s in ways that would shape women’s football at elite club level today. These changes are contested by fans and followers, but there is little doubt that overall they helped to develop both elite and grassroots women’s and girls’ football. What was gradually lost was a degree of independence. As part of the attempt to re-position professional football after the Thatcher government established a ‘War Cabinet’ on hooliganism in the mid-1980s, the PFA and The Football League established ‘Football in the Community’. This initiative sought to encourage all Football League Clubs to work with all sections of the community, including more women and girls. Community coaching increased, as did 2  Catherine Etoe, Natalia Sollohub Three Lions on Her Shirt (London: The History Press, 2007) p. 25.

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access to community pitches, although elite technical areas were not normally extended to these groups. In the context of the Heysel Stadium disaster on 19 May 1985, the Bradford City Stadium Fire, loss of life at St Andrews Stadium in a Birmingham City vs. Leeds match, and large-scale rioting by Millwall fans in Luton, football needed to tell a different story than the minority of hooligans who made the majority of headlines. Women and girls became useful in revising that narrative. New forms of funding were made available to clubs who participated, and by the advent of the Premiership in 1992, over 30 League Clubs had lent their names, if not their most prized facilities, to a women’s club. As Gill Sayell, previously of Thame and Aylesbury has told me on several occasions, in the 1980s, Arsenal were looking to add women onto their Youth Training Schemes (YTS), a government-funded apprenticeship designed to keep young people in a combination of employment and on the job training, in order to promote coaching for girls in the Islington area.3 It is often said that Arsenal kit man Vic Akers founded the team, and in some sense, he did. But this simple version of events requires revision. Vik Akers was appointed to the community section of Arsenal in 1986, but through a common friend, Allie Clement, who worked with him at the football in the Community Scheme, he realised that setting up a senior women’s team from scratch would be difficult. Allie was friendly with Terri Irvine, Gill Sayell, and the successful team at Aylesbury, playing at that time at Cuddington, the majority of whom moved over to become the Arsenal women’s team en masse. Although some of the Aylesbury team were unable, or unwilling, to make the move, having England players, and some very strong squad players fitted what Arsenal and Akers wanted to do in terms of having a strong senior women’s squad to assist with community outreach. This might otherwise have taken years to build. Some of Gill’s team mates, like Michelle Curley (an England player) and Sarah Ryan joined the YTS scheme there, as sports leaders and coaches, going on to do community outreach work in Islington. This nuance takes nothing away from Akers, who is credited as being the manager to win the FA Women’s Cup 11 times, the FA Women’s Premier League Cup 10 times, and the FA Women’s Premier League 11 times, receiving an OBE after he retired in 2009. He also won the UEFA Women’s Cup with Arsenal in 2007, the first English side so to do. But this ‘great man’ version of history somewhat overshadows the women players who had often begun to play during the ban and had become a very strong side at Aylesbury, so Akers had strong material with which to work. Like the FA affiliating the WFA at a safe arm’s distance, many of the League clubs encouraged the women’s football in the community clubs to be ‘independent’, self-funding through grants, and borrowing the name of the club somewhat loosely. Although allowed use of the minibus and Arsenal name, in terms of kits and some access to the male professional club, the women worked 3

 Gill Sayell interview 10 December 2022.

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and played at the JVC Centre for the Community, rather than Highbury proper, although there were plans for double-header matches. Although not very gracious as a welcome, this allowed those at Millwall for instance, to develop to the extent of winning the WFA Cup in 1991. Since Millwall men’s team had a reputation for hooliganism as a club, this marginalised space allowed the women to help diversify the narrative of how it was perceived. Although often perceived as an economic drain than a financial asset, women’s teams, therefore, often helped with the Corporate Social Responsibility aspects of male professional clubs and in brand management. Most of the clubs that took on women’s sides were in Labour-controlled local authorities or in council areas that supported equality of opportunity, so funding was made available that would otherwise not be a normal funding stream for professional clubs. Many of the ‘in-kind’ support that the club offered in return was the use of facilities that would otherwise not have been used, and it is possible today to see specific sports facilities, community facilities such as classrooms, gyms, and meeting rooms as the policies have continued in the Premiership era. But women’s independent clubs, such as Doncaster Belles, who began as supporters of the men’s Doncaster FC team sometimes outgrew their parent organisation in terms of achievement. Increasingly, the FA decided that it was the moral responsibility of these League and Premiership teams to take on women and girls, through football in the community, and funding followed. As later chapters will argue, when Doncaster Belles were relegated twice for financial, rather than sporting reasons from the Women’s Super League (WSL) formed in 2010, the long-term effects of this policy could be seen to be questionable. It would seem the long-term plan is for the Premiership to become a form of parent company for the WSL, as the FA considers itself to have done its bit. This remains a contentious point today because the fragility of the model has been plain for all to see from the outset. Why would the male professional Football League and the Premiership, keen to maximise revenue streams from the 1921 ban onwards, and especially since the 1960s, want to take on women’s football in the 1980s and 1990s? In 1997, when Mohamed Al-Fayed bought Fulham FC, professional contracts were handed out to some women who joined the team, claimed by many as ‘the first’ in error. But when he sold the parent club in 2013, having lent £187 million in interest-free loans, the women’s team was disbanded. There are many such examples from Southampton to Manchester. Both Channel 4 and some children’s programmes featured women’s football as a somewhat niche sport, rather than one involving mass participation in the 1980s. A Visnews News Service script from the Sweden vs. England match, 30 October 1983, stipulated that not more than 2 min of footage be shown on news bulletins, which comprised mainly of the build-up and scoring of four

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goals in a 2-2 draw.4 An even briefer 33-s TV Globo clip from Brazil circulated widely showing Ribiero Preto losing 5-0 to the Radar team from Rio, when in a dispute over a penalty, one player referred to as Lola, began arguing with the referee, while her team mate Sandra kicked his shins. After falling to the ground, the referee of the charity match sent Lola off, and she is seen by the camera leaving the field of play.5 But moving images of women’s football remained rare into the 1980s, in spite of the Bill Forsyth film, Gregory’s Girl, netting £25, 780 at the box office. An employee of Mark McCormack’s Trans World Sport played football and a series of 1-h programmes showed women’s football, also appearing on magazine-­style roundup formats. In the 1989 WFA Cup Final, Leasowe Ladies, of Merseyside, beat Friends of Fulham, shown on Channel Four one week after the Hillsborough disaster when all male professional football had been postponed. Almost three million people tuned into watch, and it was widely covered by media needing content. Earlier, in 1987, a BBC 2 documentary explored the drain of talent to Italy, titled Home and Away. Ironically, as Kerry Davis told me in our interview, it was the debacle of the 1984 England v Sweden Final at Kenilworth that persuaded her to go to play in the Italian leagues in 1985. Players like Davis and Debbie Bampton, the England captain who took over from Carol Thomas when she retired in 1985, were earning £150 plus kit, footballs, and accommodation. Doncaster’s Gill Coultard would swap the captaincy with Bampton for various reasons and, as the first woman to don 100 caps for England, would decide not to go to Italy as a professional. Hope Powell who joined the England set up in the 1980s, along with her then partner Brenda Sempare, would go on to revolutionise the England coaching set-up when appointed as the first full-time coach in 1998. Powell had played in a five-a-side competition organised by the Metropolitan Police and HSBC Bank at the Empire Pool Wembley for girls aged between 12 and 15 on 31 October 1980, for Millwall, and Friends of Fulham featuring a young Marianne Spacey, a future England team mate. As has been said in the previous chapter, previously England women had met France in November 1974, and then Wales in a five-a-side exhibition match at the Daily Express Five-a-Side National Football Championship, Empire Pool, Wembley, 5 November 1975. Even earlier, Manchester Corinthians had met Southampton on 8 April 1970 at the Empire Pool Wembley, organised by the Central Council Physical Recreation (CCPR). Gradually, women moved the important short distance from the Empire Pool, built in 1933–1934 as a 200-metre swimming pool and with a deck for ice skating, to the stadium itself. On 18 August 1984, a six-a-side tournament called the AC Delco Challenge between Howbury Grange, Millwall Lionesses, St Helens, and a Merseyside and Wirral Representative team competed ahead

4 5

 Visnews Service Production number 6568/83 London 30 October 1983 p. 1.  Visnews Service Production number 0879/87 Ribieiro Pacto Brazil 8 February 1987 p. 1.

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of the Charity Shield match contested by Liverpool and Everton at Wembley Stadium. St Helens met Millwall in the final, which ended 1-1, but victory was awarded to Millwall because their keeper had picked up the ball less. Then, on 16 July 1987, Millwall Lionesses met the Cincinnati Southeast Cardinals Under-14s, who won 1-0 in front of 3000 fans as part of the fourth annual London International Soccer Festival. The pitch had been damaged by a recent Genesis concert, and a smaller pitch had been marked out. It marked the first 11-a-side football match by women at Wembley, although women’s hockey internationals were played there annually since 1951.6 Megan Andrews narrowly missed her moment of fame for Cincinnati, because her goal was disallowed. This meant that her team mate Lisa Franck, of Anderson Junior High, has the distinction of scoring in the first 11-a-side women’s match at Wembley, albeit not an international fixture. Some have dismissed this feat due to her age, and hence not a full senior fixture, but if you are good enough, you are good enough. On 17 April 1988, the Republic of Ireland and England played an exhibition match at Wembley. This was the first time the England women’s international team played at the stadium, but only 2 × 15 min halves were played, as pre-match entertainment prior to the Mercantile Credit Football Festival, which was in itself to mark the centenary of the formation of the Football League. Gill Coultard and Marieanne Spacey scored the goals for England’s 2-0 win. The symbolic value of playing at Wembley was enormous, although the opportunities were few and far between. Most of the connectivity was through enthusiasm, such as when England played in the Mundialito in Italy, a term meaning little world cup. Finishing third in 1984, England won against the hosts in both 1985 and 1988. Made more remarkable by the fact that Denmark came third, and the USA fourth in 1985, in 1988, the USA finished third and France fourth. So this was a real indicator of how good individual England players were, regardless of the poverty of the WFA. The achievement was marked by The Sunday Times Sports Team of the Year Award, which was astonishing for amateur players, at a time when the Olympic Games and most other sports had moved into an Open era, abolishing the professional/ amateur distinction. So these are the major themes and personalities of this decade explored in the following chapter. It also considers England women’s experiences of their first major championship in 1984 in the players’ own words. Martin Reagan was appointed in 1979, and had first taken charge of England’s three games in 1980, losing 2-1 to Belgium in Ostend, winning 6-1 against Wales in Warminster, and drawing 1-1 with Sweden at Leicester City FC. Martin Reagan’s first match as manager took place on 1 May 1980 against Belgium in Ostend, suffering a 2-1 loss with a goal from debutant Tracy Doe, who came off the bench to score. He would continue in the role until 1990 and so was the first manager 6  Jean Williams A Contemporary History of Women’s Sport (London: Routledge Research in Sport History, 2014) p. 165.

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to lead the team for a decade. In an era of Reaganomics, after US President Ronald Reagan, a big fan of Margaret Thatcher and a retired actor, pursued the line that greed was good, especially for big business. In contrast, the particular brand of Reaganomics the new England manager had to contend with was extreme austerity, and making do. This did not extend to the quality on offer in the players though, who even by today’s standards were legendary. The stability Martin Reagan’s extended tenure proved to be important for developing the existing players, and for bringing in a new generation of young talent to the squad. This chapter focuses on Carol Thomas, first woman to fifty caps, and her successors as captain Debbie Bampton and Gill Coultard. The chapter also focuses on Kerry Davis, the prolific striker who made such an instantaneous change on her debut and early career, and on Reagan himself, as the architect of England’s many 1980s achievements. The game at Leicester was to prove pivotal in securing an invitation to play a tournament in Japan in 1981. David Hanley, who has written a history of women’s football in Japan, explained why this was so pivotal in our 2020 interview.7 David told me: The organisation of women’s football in Japan developed significantly in the 1960s and 1970s. Leagues were run on a local or regional basis, and an unofficial annual national championship was first held in early 1976. In 1979, the Japan Football Association (JFA) began registering women’s teams and their players, and it also established its own official championship. While the JFA provided funding for women’s activities, they left the day-to-­ day organisation of women’s football to the newly founded Japan Women’s Football Federation (JWFF), whose members had already been running the sport for some years. As a result, the JWFF was largely free to organise competitions as they saw fit, and until the 1981 season (which began in April), teams competing in the All Japan Championship and most regional leagues fielded only eight players. The ball used was smaller than the regular size, and the pitches were also smaller. The main reason for this situation was that most senior players were in their early teens. Aside from domestic football, the JWFF also endeavoured to organise a national team. Although women had played football in East and Southeast Asia since the early twentieth century, the sustained organisation of competitions (especially international matches) did not develop until the 1960s. In 1961, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the prime minister of Malaya (and after the forming of Malaysia in 1963, its first prime minister) decided to arrange women’s matches to raise funds for charity. The matches were a great success, and Tunku encouraged the founding of teams across the country. His wife, Tun Sharifah Rodziah, thereafter took responsibility for developing women’s football, and in 1965, she led a representative team to Hong Kong, where they would play the first international matches in Asia. To prepare a side for the event, the Hong Kong FA approached Veronica Chan, a businesswoman involved in men’s football with her husband, to organise a team. The better-prepared Malaysian side won all three matches held, 7

 David Hanley interview 20 January 2020.

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but the more important outcome was that Veronica Chan became wholly devoted to the promotion of women’s football over the coming decades; she would spend enormous sums of her own money to ensure the sport’s growth. In 1968, the Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) was founded, with Sharifah Rodziah as president and Veronica Chan acting as one of three vice-­ presidents. Little progress was made until 1974, when Chan became president (Sharifah Rodziah became honorary president), and a number of new members joined, bringing the total to eight: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia (actually just New South Wales), Indonesia, Thailand, and New Zealand. Six of the eight members met in Hong Kong for the first Asian Cup Women’s Football Championship (Indonesia and Taiwan did not) in August 1975. The winners, who never again took part, were New Zealand. The ALFC thereafter held their Asian Cup tournament at roughly two-year intervals, though not without difficulties. Neither FIFA nor the Asian Football Confederation would incorporate the organisation, and both sought to disrupt its activities. An additional problem, which would take some years to resolve, was that many countries, including Japan, did not maintain formal relations with Taiwan. Prior to the founding of the JWFF in 1979, the JFA had not endeavoured to form a national side, though they did give Tokyo’s FC Jinnan, the first club team founded in Japan (in 1972) permission to take part in the Asian Cup in 1977. The players, who wore the national flag on their sleeves rather than on their chests, were beaten by both Taiwan and Indonesia, but they were most appreciative of the chance to travel overseas, to meet fellow players from elsewhere in Asia, and to gain an appreciation of the wider world. No Japanese team travelled to the third Asian Cup, but by the time of the fourth tournament, held in June 1981, the JWFF was ready to send an official team for the first time. The trip was not without its issues, not least, the JFA refused to provide any financial backing, and only through a combination of funding from overseas foundations, sponsors, and the players themselves, was participation possible at all. Japan’s entry onto the international stage prompted a change in domestic football, as 11-a-side matches on full-sized pitches became the norm. Not everything changed though, the players still used a smaller-than-­ standard ball, and matches were far from 90 min in length, but these deviations from standard football would also disappear over the coming years. The Japanese were disappointed with their performances at 1981s Asian Cup, with just one win over Indonesia providing some cheer. They lost to the two eventual finalists, Taiwan and Thailand. What most concerned the players and coaches was that the Japanese players were not only technically inferior to the neighbours, but also physically inferior. Having entered international competition, the JWFF’s next mission was the successful hosting of an international tournament in Japan, and the first chance to do so would come in September of that same year. However, the suggestion that the country should host such as tournament had first been made in January 1980, when three influential journalists had discussed the possibility of inviting overseas teams in a leading football magazine. One of the journalists involved was Kagawa Hiroshi, a proud native of Kobe City in Hyōgo Prefecture, and he insisted that 1981’s Portopia Exposition, an event to celebrate the construction of the world’s largest artificial island, would provide an ideal backdrop for such an occasion.

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The chairman of Hyōgo Prefecture’s football association, Takasago Yoshiyuki, travelled to England and watched the home side play out a 1−1 draw with Sweden in Leicester on 17 September 1980. He was impressed by the large number of spectators and by the use of standard FIFA rules. Takasago felt that it would be most desirable if the advances made by women in England and elsewhere in Europe could be emulated by the Japanese, and the JFA agreed. On 22 January, they announced that England, Italy, and Denmark had accepted invitations to visit Japan. Japan’s national champions were Shimizu Daihachi Sports Club from Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan. The best of the country’s remaining teams were based either in Tokyo or in the western Kansai region—specifically in the cities of Kyoto, Kobe, and Takatsuki. As the first match would be played in Kobe, the best of Shimizu Daihachi’s players would be joined by representatives of the Kansai teams. For the match in Tokyo, Shimizu Daihachi’s players would be joined by some of the capital’s finest players. The team was managed by Ichihara Seiki, who had led Nishiyama High School in Kyoto to three successive unofficial national championship titles. The visiting teams travelled with squads of 16 members. England’s squad was well balanced with regard to age, with teenagers such as Gillian Coultard and Angela Gallimore complemented by a number of more experienced players, such as Sheila Parker, Terry Irvine, Christine Hutchinson, and Maureen Reynolds. Like the English, the Danes had a good spread of players in their twenties, with a late replacement, Inger Pedersen, the senior squad member at 31. The greatest source of fascination for the Japanese spectators and press were the Italians, and in particular, the 27-year-old Elisabetta Vignotto and Carolina Morace, who was 17. The remaining squad members were largely in their late teens to mid-twenties.

In point of fact, Angela Gallimore and Gill Coultard were in the right place at the right time, having both debuted on 3 May 1981 against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin in a 5-0 win. Their next match would be in Kobe where Gallimore would score twice against Japan, along with goals from Debbie Bampton and Vicky Johnson. Players were numbered by surname, not position, which resulted in some rather odd line-ups when squad numbers were listed. The 16-strong squad was Janet Turner, Terry Irvine, Gillian Coultard, Linda Curl, Terry Wiseman, Angela Gallimore, Vicky Johnson, Carol Thomas, Tracy Doe, Sheila Parker, Eileen Foreman, Linda Coffin, Christine Hutchinson, Liz Deighan, Debbie Bampton, and Maureen Reynolds.8 After a 4-0 win over Japan, England lost 1-0 to Denmark in Tokyo, and that was the extent of their tournament. For context, David Hanley provided more detail in our interview: The first match was Denmark 1-1 Italy, with 4000–5000 spectators. The tournament’s opening match between Denmark and Italy ended in a 1-1 draw. Denmark defended ferociously and attacked well down both wings. Inger Pedersen scored the lead goal after 32 min, volleying home a cross from Lone Smidt Hansen. In

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 Portopia Tournament Programme 1981 Kobe: JWFF pp. 1–2, scan courtesy of David Hanley.

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the second half, the Danes pushed hard for a second goal, but Italian goalkeeper Daniela Sogliani was in fine form and dealt well with the danger. At the other end of the field, Vignotto became increasingly more confident and chances began to come her way. She equalised on 65 min with a tremendous strike from about 20 m out, with Ornella Montesi intercepting a poor Danish clearance to start the move. Thereafter, chances fell to Denmark’s Susanne Niemann and to Italy’s half-time substitute, Carolina Morace, though neither could find a goal to win the game. The second match was Japan 0-4 England, with an attendance of 7000. Japan’s starting line-up for their first game featured seven players from Shimizu Daihachi, two from Kobe FC, and one each from Takatsuki Women FC and Nishiyama High School.9 The team was very young; 13 of the 15 players who played were still in school, and the senior members were 21 years of age. Kubo Emiko, who made an appearance as a substitute, remains the youngest player to ever make an official appearance for Japan at 14  years and 262  days, and this record is unlikely to be surpassed. Iwaya Mihoko started in goal, behind Yamaguchi Sayuri, Kaneda Shiho, Jajima Nobuko, and Shiraishi Masuyo. In midfield were Kioka Futaba, Kakinami Kaoru, and Kaji Mayumi. The most unusual aspect of Japan’s starting line-up was that Honda Midori played in a forward position alongside Kaneda Miho and Handa Etsuko. For England, Terry Wiseman played in goal, behind Carol Thomas, Angela Gallimore, Sheila Parker, and Linda Coffin; Linda Curl, Debbie Bampton, and Liz Deighan started in midfield; and Tracy Doe, Eileen Foreman, and Janet Turner were the front three. About 7000 spectators saw England entirely dominate the first 40 min, and it was remarkable that Japan managed to go in at half-time, still level. England had gone close, hitting the crossbar and the post within minutes of kick-off, and Iwaya had put in a commendable performance in goal. England’s physical strength, pace, and accurate passing were ultimately too much for Japan to contain in the second half, and the visitors took the lead on 45 min through Gallimore, who rose above Iwaya to head home Bampton’s free kick. Three minutes later, Gallimore scored again, this time capitalising on a poor defensive clearance. In the final 10  min, England added another two goals to underline their superiority. Substitute Vicky Johnson scored with a shot over the head of Iwaya, who was short at only 160 cm, and Bampton scored the final goal from 30 m out. Over the course of the 80 min, England outshot Japan by 34 to 3, won 12 corner kicks (Japan won none), and were not once required to take a goal kick. The third match was Japan 0-9 Italy, in front of 3000 people. Five of the seven Shimizu players retained their places for Japan’s match against Italy; Iwaya Mihoko and Kaneda Shiho were the two who were dropped. The only change made to the positions of the five players who started both matches was that Honda Midori was moved back into midfield. Hase Chieko took over from Iwaya in goal, behind Yamaguchi Sayuri, Kondō Nobuko, Ō hara Tomoko, and Iwata Akemi; in midfield with Honda were Kioka Futaba, and Mishima Sanae; and in attack were Yoshida Masako, Kaneda Miho, and Handa Etsuko.

 David Hanley Women’s Football in Japan 1964–1991 (Ireland: Printset Design, 2021) p. 103.

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Italy started with Daniela Sogliani in goal; and their back four were Ornella Montesi, Maria Sossella, Maria Mariotti, and Maura Furlotti; in midfield were Elisabetta Saldi, Carolina Morace, and Nazzarena Grilli; and in attack were Elisabetta Vignotto, Stefania Bandini, and Elisabetta Secci. The use of more senior Tokyo League players did not necessarily strengthen the team, as their abilities roughly matched those of the Kansai players. Furthermore, as the Tokyo players were generally shorter and lighter than those they had replaced, no advantage was gained in terms of physicality. However, Japan did not lose to either Italy or England because of their size; the simple fact was that they were not yet good enough to compete with such superior opposition. Italy showed very quickly just how well they could play, and after 23 min, they were already five goals clear. For the first 15 min, Japan held on desperately, but once the first goal went in, there was no stopping the visitors. Secci scored that opening goal, with Vignotto providing the short pass to set her up. Seconds later, an own goal doubled Italy’s lead. The next three goals, which came in the twentieth, twenty-first, and twenty-third minutes, all came from dead ball situations. A corner kick set up Morace for the third goal of the night, and Saldi scored both of the next two. For the first, she got on the end of a free kick; for the second, she headed in from a corner kick. Eleven minutes after half-time, substitute Sandra Pierazzuoli capitalised on a mistake by Hase for the sixth goal, and she scored again on 68 min, heading in another corner kick. In between these goals, Vignotto scored from a penalty kick. With 5 min remaining, Vignotto scored her second goal and Italy’s ninth, with Grilli supplying the final ball. The fourth match was the Denmark 1-0 win over England, with around 3000 spectators in Tokyo. The match between Denmark and England was another good opportunity for the Japanese crowd, of about 3000 spectators, to see high-­ calibre football. Denmark were again tough in defence, particularly in their marking of forward Janet Turner (who had taken more shots than anyone in England’s match against Japan), and going forward Charlotte Nielsen-Mann’s speed was a constant cause of concern for England’s back line. Denmark won the game by a goal to nil. As in the Danes’ first game against Italy, Inger Pedersen scored with Lone Smidt Hansen supplying the final ball. Although Japan had been well beaten in both games, the players said that they had benefitted from the experience. Their performances clarified objectives for improving their play, and a further benefit was a new awareness of the sport among the general public. What was most obvious was that Japan’s players were never likely to match European players in terms of physique. What their two defeats showed was that the guiding principle for the future, a future that would ultimately lead to World Cup glory in 2011, was the need to develop highly skilled, thoroughly organised, and tactically aware players.

England would play just one more match in 1981, a 3-0 loss to Norway at Cambridge United FC on 25 October. Not least, the 10-day Japanese trip had depleted WFA resources, player vacation allocation, and quite considerable personal expense. This is explored in more detail with my interview with the captain, Carol Thomas, before we consider the rest of her England career up until 1985.

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Carol Thomas BEM Carol and I have met many times over the years including at Wembley on the day of England’s win in the Euros 2022. I interviewed her on several occasions, so this is a composite of those discussions. We’ve discussed in a previous chapter how Carol came to captain England just before her 21st birthday. I asked her to continue to her career in the 1980s, specifically, what was it like to captain England at the Portopia tournament in Japan, and how did that tour come about? Carol replied: For some years discussions had been held about a World Cup for Women. Whilst I didn’t know what was being discussed, it had already assumed an unofficial name Mundialito or “Little World Cup” without a ball being kicked. Of course, every international woman player of every nation wished for it and it was not until early 1981 that rumours started to circulate that we (England) were to be invited to a Football Festival that would include teams from around the world. What’s more, the Japanese had made a suggestion ahead of Italy, as part of the 1981 Kobe Portopia Festival. By June 1981, I had become an England regular with 28 consecutive caps to my name (23 as captain) and having led England into two previous tournaments (the Pony Home Internationals in 1975 and the 1979 Unofficial European Cup in Italy in which we lost to Sweden). Whilst many would assume my position was secure, as every international player will tell you, we never take anything for granted. The lead-up to each and every international match had its dread, but given the era and location, this was dread on steroids! Had I done enough over recent internationals to warrant selection? Had I performed consistently over the league programme to warrant selection? Had I done enough in the Regional Trials competition? Would I be picked for the squad? Would I play in the tournament? Add to this the new England manager, Martin Reagan, who had been appointed in late 1979, had only three internationals in charge. In effect, all the established players were still trying to prove ourselves to him and justify our inclusion in his squads, whilst he was openly lauding the skills and potential of the youngsters starting to emerge around the country. Indeed, this tournament would see Martin experiment with his selections, players and formations, as well as introducing new and unique styles of play. A couple of days after my birthday I received my selection letter. Phew! I had been selected and Martin confirmed to me that I would be captain for the tour but he did say that he had every intention of using every player on the trip during the tournament. That meant every player could expect to be substituted or be a substitute over the 10 days away, without exception (ouch— he wasn’t a Tank Commander during WWII for nothing), but a reasonable approach given the unique experience this trip would give to the girls. To most of us it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. This trip has to be put in context. In the modern era, it is easy to dismiss a trip to Japan as just another holiday destination. Back in 1981, the world was not only a different place but a much bigger place. Japan was a place that only existed in films. In 1981, a girl from northern backwater could only dream of a visiting there. To me it was not just another country or another world, it was another planet.

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The 6-month-long Portopia Festival had been established to celebrate the completion of the construction of a new town on reclaimed land in Kobe, Japan. For the first time, as a squad, we agreed an official uniform for the trip should be worn, a skirt, a blouse and a blazer. Of course, this was an expense which would have to be met by the players, but it helped establish a feeling of professional pride. Also, as a squad, we had agreed to attend two training weekends in the lead-­up to the Festival. As all the squad members will tell you, Martin was an absolute stickler for fitness. Fail to meet the expected standards and he became ruthless, your England days were numbered despite our amateur status. The first would be held in Richmond on Thames on 1 and 2 of August where we had coaching sessions each morning/early afternoon and then played a match against a South of England Representative side each afternoon. The second was held in Leicester on 22 and 23 August, again with a similar format, coaching followed by matches against a Midlands Representative side 2 days running. Then back to work the following day on the Monday morning. However, the sting in the tail was that due to the lack of available finances at the WFA, a lack of sponsorship and disinterest from the FA, we had the pressure of self-funding these two training weekends as well. Given the financial situation of many of the girls, this was turning out to be a considerable cash liability and was a real ask of individuals. Couple that with the fact that in footballing terms this meant no real “close season”. Players were asked to keep training as best they could after the season, throughout June, July, and August to maintain our fitness to play the tournament. Of course, we would then return home and go straight into the domestic season. In addition, many of the girls had to forgo family holidays and, given it was a 10-day trip to the other side of the world, possibly beg their employers for extra time off work. It became a significant sacrifice for each and every one of us. Back home the news in the press started to relay the significance of the trip to the women’s game, although these tended to restricted to the more local and regional papers and not the large nationals. Our party consisted of six officials, including Pat Gregory (Chef de Mission), Flo Bilton (Assistant), Annabel Hennessy (Officer), a Team Doctor, Tony Brightwell (Squad Physio), and Martin Reagan (Squad Manager) with 16 players. The flight on 2nd September took us over the North Pole via Anchorage, Alaska, onto Osaka, then Kobe. On arrival, the first thing to hit us was the humidity. Acclimatisation was going to be essential. Training in heat included interval training, to build up the length of each period of exertion over a number of days, rehydration, rehydration mixes and the prolific use of “salt tablets” were key to survival. The Japanese had spared no expense in staging the tournament. Each squad member was given a track suit, two kits (shirts, shorts, socks) for the two games each team were to play. Every player was given a pair of (well-known Japanese brand) trainers and boots (some of the best I had the pleasure on playing in), a tee shirt and a personal kit/travel bag. The Japanese had not quite mastered the traditional way of shirt numbering. The Japanese had adopted a “semi squad” based numbering system. Each player would get a number and retain it for the tournament, much like the modern era. However, back in the day, the team starting a match would traditionally be num-

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bered 1 to 11, with the goalkeeper firmly entrenched in the number 1 shirt! As right back, I had assumed I would receive the number 2 shirt. But the Japanese, had adopted an alphabetical list of numbering, so A to Z became 1 to 16. So, with Thomas being well down the alphabet, for the first and only time in my England career, I wore a number that was so big, I got altitude sickness, that of an attacking inside forward (ask your grandad, lol), the number 10 shirt. The games themselves were played late in the evening to avoid the worst of the humidity in front of massive crowds for the day. Our game against Japan was played in front of 30,000 and was televised live across Japan on the night. Our performances were not the best. However, I always maintain that given the new introductions to the squad, a relatively new manager, the change in playing style, squad rotation, and the humidity, I believe we did well. We finished third behind the eventual winners Italy and runners up Denmark. Sadly, it wasn’t a true roundrobin tournament so we never got a chance to redeem ourselves against the mighty Italians after the Denmark loss.

I then asked Carol about how it was, returning from such an amazing trip, to domestic football. Her memories of this period are less fond. She told me: We had returned home from Japan, happy but not content. Happy because we had visited a distant exotic location, something that most of us would never do again in our lifetime. Not content because, we had not played our best. We had lost to Denmark 1-0, no mean feat given their standing in women’s football and despite the victory over the football fledging that was Japan, our performances and results were poor. We could easily blame jet lag, travel fatigue, humidity, the food, temperatures, and anything else you could think of. But the reality was that we were poor, we were much better than that, and we all knew it. Some of the more senior players, myself included thought there would now be a mass cull. Given Martin Reagan’s glowing reports of the young players coming through in the regions and what he had just witnessed in Japan, was our time up? The next 12 months are not my best memories as an England captain. We had three friendly games after Japan, two defeats and one draw and this was now my worst run of my England career. This run of games included all the footballing powerhouses of, not just Europe, but the world. This included a 1-0 defeat to Denmark in Tokyo, a 3-0 defeat against Norway at Cambridge, a 1-1 draw against Sweden in Kinna, and a 2-0 defeat to Italy. Starting with the defeat against Denmark in Tokyo, we had scored only one goal in four matches, which equates to 320  min of football (games were anywhere between 70 and 80 min in those days). What is worse, we had conceded seven goals in this run, totally unacceptable. Terry Wiseman must have thought we outfield defenders had gone AWOL and without her, I am sure the damage would have been much worse. We seemed to be going backwards as a team, or at best standing still whilst the others moved on. We felt we were letting everyone down, not just England, but Martin, all those tireless unpaid officers of the WFA who had fought so hard to establish the women’s game, ourselves and, most importantly, the English women’s game itself.

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At a personal level, I had, for the first time, some doubts about my ability and position as an international player and captain. The results were not going for us and I genuinely expected the dreaded phone call, as every manager wants his own captain and to stamp his/her mark on their team.

We then discussed the significance of UEFA launching a European championship in 1982. I asked Carol what it was like at the time, and she told me: The significance of this first tournament cannot be overstated. It was new ground for women’s football. It was UEFA approved, official as you could get at the time and had brought structure to women’s international game. It would be a twoyear competition which would culminate in a two-legged final in 1984. Matches would be played over 70 min with a size 4 ball. I had led England in three previous tournaments. In 1976, we won the three-­ cornered Home International Championship. In 1979, we competed in the 12-team unofficial European Competition. We qualified from our group but lost 3-1 to Italy in the semi-final and lost to Sweden in the third place playoff, on penalties. The third of my tournaments being the unpolished displays in the Portopia tournament. On 19 September 1982, at Crewe, we played the first game against Northern Ireland, a team England last played in 1973. Whilst they were not a recognised dominant European footballing force, they were internationals, had great players, and had to be respected. I didn’t know what to expect but a 7-1 victory was not in any of my dreams and certainly not a bad start to any tournament. It was our first victory in over a year and it was a massive relief. Little did we realise what was about to unfold over that qualifying group and beyond. The game itself was a light bulb moment. Things on the pitch, at last, just seem to fall into place. Everything Martin had been saying worked. It also just happened to be the game in which Martin unleashed the talent that was Kerry Davis. Her explosive entrance saw her net two of the goals in front of her home crowd.

Kerry Davis had scored twice in her debut, and Linda Curl also scored two, one a converted penalty, while Janet Turner, Tracy Doe, and Gill Coultard scored one each. Carol Thomas continued her description of the tournament by reinforcing what an important player Kerry was in big games. She told me: Two weeks later we played Scotland up in Dumbarton. My personal record against them was won one, lost one, the defeat being over 4 years previous. That is a long wait for any footballer to address a bitter memory. We put in another dominant performance. After 25 min we were 2-0 up and ran out worthy 4-0 victors, well…really, Kerry Davis ran out the 4-0 victor having netted all four goals! Our final game of 1981 saw us travel to Dublin in the third qualifying game. In the 1970s, The Troubles had escalated and English visitors to all parts of the island of Ireland still had to exercise caution. So, we flew in on the Saturday, played Sunday afternoon, won 1-0 with Kerry scoring, and flew out on the 8:30 p.m. flight back to Heathrow. A whistle-stop tour if ever there was one.

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The tournament resumed in 1983 with the reverse fixtures. We were brimming with confidence. In May, we travelled to Belfast for the return game against Northern Ireland. The WFA reminded us that this could be a difficult trip, given the sectarian tensions that still existed, and the players were offered the opportunity to withdraw from the squad, without prejudice to future selection, if they were uncomfortable with the trip. As I remember, no one withdrew and it has to be said we were made very welcome in Belfast with the trip going off without any problems. Even better, we ran out 4-0 winners, once again a clean sheet. Kerry Davis scored two, Pat Champman and Linda Curl one each. One week later, we arrived at Elland Road to take on Scotland. This was our seventh appearance on a professional ground. Our pride soon turned to dismay as the Elland Road pitch was not worthy of a pigsty. It was obvious that the side that could remain upright the longest would prevail. Fortunately, on that day, Scotland slid and slipped. Our 2-0 victory was in no small part due to Pat Chapman performing miracles on the day for her two goals, and meant we had qualified for the finals with a game to spare. We had to wait another 4 months before we rounded off the qualifiers. By now, I had moved on from CP Doncaster Ladies and joined Gill Coultard at Rowntree’s Ladies. There, we were managed by the England great, Pat Firth, whose career had tragically been cut short through a career-ending knee injury. We could relax and we cut loose at Reading. We ran out worthy 6-0 winners against the Republic of Ireland. Again Kerry scored two, Angie Gallimore, Liz Deighan and Linda Curl one each, plus an own goal. We topped our qualifying group. Any manager in the world would take our record, of played six, won six, for 24 goals, against one goal, only marginally beaten by the Swedes record.

I remind Carol that this match is significant for the introduction of, first Hope Powell, then Brenda Sempare as debutants, both coming off the bench. She responded: We had become very, very miserly in defence and I liked it. Goals may win matches, but clean sheets mean no defeats. That miserly base comprising of, Lorraine Hanson. Angie Gallimore, Maggie Pearce, and myself, with the agile and acrobatic Terry Wiseman behind us, gave our midfielders of Liz Deighan, Gill Coultard, and Debbie Bampton time to create and our forwards Kerry Davis, Linda Curl, and Pat Chapman the confidence to go forward and play. We also had the experience of Sheila Parker and the young talents of Hope Powell, Brenda Sempare, and Terri Irvine on the bench. We also had so much young talent lurking on the fringes, many of whom went onto stellar careers. This squad, including those fringe and young players coming through, in my eyes, had a side within it that was destined for success at some point in the future. For me personally, I believe I was now coming into the some of the best form of my international career. I was with a club side that could compete on the national stage, I was training with Hull City U-19 men and was incredibly fit for the era, I had an England manager who totally believed in me, and I was totally comfortable with my England roles and everything that came with them.

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The Danes, Swedes, and Italians had also qualified. At that time, Sweden were ranked No.1 in the world and we had never beaten them in our previous four meetings. The Danes were ranked a close second and we had never beaten them in our three meetings and we had only beaten Italy once in five meetings, back in 1977. So, the teams that had caused us all those doubts pre-tournament were on a plate for us, with “official” tournament silverware and a No.1 world ranking at stake. As the saying goes, the scene was set, I was ready, England were ready, so let’s bring them on.

I found it absolutely fascinating to hear Carol’s account of being in such a major tournament, and amazed by how much was left to the players to conduct their own fitness and training. There was also obviously so much respect for the manager on an absolute shoestring of a budget. There was no support from the FA other than supplying his part-time wage. Carol told me of the next stages of the tournament: Martin Reagan had brought together a wider squad with an excellent mix of youth, talent, and experience. He had also put together a schedule of preparatory coaching sessions leading up to the finals in May of 1984. The draw had pitted Italy against Sweden. Italy had qualified after a tricky group which included a France side capable of beating anyone on their day. As expected, Sweden had swept all before them in their group, scoring an impressive 26 goals whilst only conceding one. That left England with the pleasure of Denmark. Denmark, too, had a nervy qualification group that included, Holland, Germany and Belgium, all capable of great things on their day. Significantly, in six matches they had only scored eight goals, conceded the most goals of all the qualifying teams and won only three of their games. This, we all felt, showed potential weaknesses in the Danish side giving us an excellent chance to redeem our tournament defeat and poor performance in Japan. The home and away, double header semi-final games against Denmark were scheduled for April 1984. The first leg was to be at home at Gresty Park, home of Crewe Alexander FC, and then the return in the Hjorring Stadium in Hjorring, Northern Denmark. This, we felt, gave us a chance to go into a second leg, with a victory and goal advantage under our belts. For the first leg, on Sunday 8th April 1984, the WFA had managed to secure Gresty Road, Crewe for this semi-final first leg. A league ground but hardly a Wembley. FA Chairman, Bert Millichip was in attendance giving some support. It was hoped that a good performance would raise the profile of the women’s game in the eyes of the grey suits in Lancaster Gate. It was also hoped that if victory over the two legs did happen, we just might get a high profile ground, even Wembley, to showcase the final. The Danes were red-hot favourites given their track record over recent years, and their history against us. The Danes started well and we were soon defending hard, with Terry Wiseman making several key saves. Despite several missed chances from both sides, I remember Gill Coultard breaking away from midfield. She slid the ball to Linda Curl, and she, in turn, put Kerry Davis through to score a great goal by chipping the keeper.

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The second half saw us quickly get on top but we failed to add to our tally. And then 15 min into the half, we were on the wrong end of a poor penalty decision. Terry was helpless to stop the ball this time. But we ensured the Danish celebrations were short lived. As the old footballing saying goes, teams are at their most vulnerable just after they have scored. A minute later saw a great Pat Chapman cross finding the head of Kerry Davis who nodded into the path of Debbie Bampton who finished it with easiest of touches. After our quick response, Denmark threw everything at us, but we remained resolute. Lorraine Hanson made a great goal line clearance, Gill Coultard made an important covering tackle, and in the last minute, Terry Wiseman pulled off yet another great save. That proved to be the last memorable moment of the game and the celebrations were somewhat muted as we knew we had triumphed against the run of play. We were relieved to have won, but felt we had acquitted ourselves well against the team ranked second in the world at the time. Most importantly though, we had got our much hoped for advantage going into the second leg. There was now a quiet determination and growing confidence within this England squad. Twenty days later, Saturday 28th April 1984, saw us arrive at the Hjorring Stadium for the return leg of this two-legged semi-final. It has to be said this was in northern Denmark and if we had gone any further north, we would have been inside the Arctic Circle! Thankfully, it was approaching summer and so temperatures were very acceptable for a game of football. Once again, the Danish press was out in force televising the whole game live to the Danish nation. And once again, the British sporting press and media had chosen to stay at home. Hjorring itself is a small town, but it is absolutely football mad. It boasts one of the world’s largest football tournaments, the Dana Cup, and tens of thousands of footballers from all over the world descend on the town in mid-July. Given this backdrop, it made absolute sense for the Danish FA to organise the game here. Surprisingly, only 1400+ filled the ground, not many more than at Gresty Road and that can only be put down to the live TV showing. It is fairly safe to say that the Danish nation and press saw only one winner of this semi-final, and it was not the girls in white. They had long claimed to be ranked number one and fully expected to be in the final alongside their arch neighbours, Sweden, to slug it out for the final. The expectation to sweep us aside and power their way through to that final, despite their defeat at Crewe, was high. This game proved to be one of the best England performances to date. On that day, we, England, were absolutely fantastic. From the kick-off, we went at them and Pat Chapman was at her very best. Strangely, the “world champions elect” seemed unable to cope with our determination, power, and skill. Our only goal came from a short corner as the cross in was met perfectly by Debbie Bampton. I think Terry Wiseman had only one shot to stop all game. We had so many chances throughout the 80 min coming from all parts of the pitch. In truth, a 1-0 win flattered the Danes on the day. To this day, I cannot work out what went wrong for the Danes. In previous matches, they had been so dominant and aggressive, and we had never beaten them, yet we achieved two great wins. On this day, they were certainly no match. My only thoughts can be that Martin Reagan had hit on a system for this group of players that allowed us to flourish. I also think that, as this game showed, this

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England squad, when the odds were stacked against them or people wrote them off, they became so much greater than the sum of the individual parts. This was my forty-second appearance for England, my thirty-seventh as captain, and it still ranks up there as one of the all-time best England women’s performances I’ve ever had the pleasure to play in, or to witness. We played well in both games, albeit in differing ways. At the time, the two victories (2-1 and 1-0), a determined defensive display at Crewe followed by the especially pleasing second leg performance showed the adaptability of the individual players. It seemed like the squad, consisting of experience and youth, flair and grit, elegance and perpetual motion, was making real progress. We had achieved what we had set out to do. We had won and, the bonus was, we had won well. It seems unbelievable now, in this day and age, but we had just qualified for a European Final for national teams, the first one by any England national football team, men or women, and yet there was so little in the press, written or media, the following day. This set up the first officially recognised UEFA Cup Final against our arch rivals, Sweden, who we considered to be the best team in the world alongside Italy. They, too, had had two very tight games against the powerful Italians, but had run out winners in both of their legs (3-2 and 2-1). Given that our previous two encounters had ended up as draws, a 1-1  in 1982 at Kinna in Sweden, a 2-2 in 1983 at The Valley, Charlton Athletic, and the form that we had now come into, we had every right to feel positive about the two-legged final in 2 weeks’ time. So the preparations, analysis, and fine tuning continued in earnest over the next 14 days. So the last 2 years had finally reached its conclusion. With almost identical qualifying records, both with eight wins from eight games and with goal differences of 27 and 35, the two best teams in Europe, Sweden, and England, had finally battled their way to a final. On Saturday 12th May 1984, Ullevi Stadium, Gotheburg, it was a warm and sunny afternoon as 5552 fans packed the stadium for the first leg of the inaugural UEFA Competition for National Representative Women’s Teams final. Swedish TV was also on hand to televise the game live throughout Sweden. The women’s game across in Sweden was significantly more popular than anywhere else, other than Italy. Meanwhile, back home, absolutely nothing of note was raised in the national media. Once again, so much potential and yet, so little delivery. It could be argued of course, that this date was bang in the middle of the Falklands war and that the nation had other things on their minds. As the teams lined up before kick-off, we were soon reminded of Sweden’s physical presence. Player for player, the Swedes were a good 2–3 in. (5–8 cm) taller than us and physically much more imposing. However, as the semi-finals proved, this England side, were not easily, if ever, intimidated physically or technically. We started okay, and even managed the first shot of the match, but the Swedes, with the talent that was Pia Sundehage in their ranks, quickly got on top. Pia, of course, went on to achieve great things with the Swedish national team and beyond as a successful manager. For most of the game, we had to defend, with the Swedes playing good, attacking football at pace. It quickly became a very much “backs to the wall”

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performance with all the girls defending well individually and collectively, sticking to our game plan as a team. The first half ended at 0-0. Terry Wiseman had had a brilliant first half, keeping us in the game on many occasions. Into the second half, we managed to create a couple of chances but couldn’t quite convert them. Debbie Bampton scuffed a really great chance. Ironically, we had never beaten Sweden and the last four clashes had all ended in a draw. The only other games had ended in fairly comprehensive defeats at the start of my England career. Around the fifty-fifth minute, my most treasured memory of the game came as I made, what looked like, an impossible goal line clearance with Terry having been beaten for the first time in the game. It kept us in the game and I was beginning to dare to think…. Could this keep us in the game and inspire us to greater things? Then it happened. A couple of minutes after the clearance, we switched off for the first time in the match. We gave the Swedes too much time and space on our left hand side. A perfect cross in saw Pia Sundehage come through at terrific pace, past me and leaping high to head the ball powerfully into the net. Despite all the continuing pressure from the Swedes, we managed to see out a 1-0 score line. Defeated but not down, I felt that going into the second leg we had a real chance of winning. I knew this squad I had just captained, had the players of quality, tenacity, and outstanding natural ability to turn this deficit into ultimate victory on home soil. Fortunately, someone has loaded this game up in full onto YouTube.10 It gives a great insight to the women’s game of that era and demonstrates clearly, how far the women’s game has come since those days. It also shows how difficult it was, for all sides in the tournament, playing with a size 4 ball. Two weeks later, we were back in London for the second leg. The expectation of a Wembley dream was quickly dashed though, as the FA’s interest never materialised. So, as players what could we hope for? A top Division 1 (Premiership) London club ground surely was the order of the day, Stamford Bridge? White Hart Lane? Highbury? No one was having any of it. We had to thank the Swedes once more. Unbelievably, the English home for the first ever Women’s Euro Final was to be the grandeur that was Kenilworth Road, the home of Luton Town AFC. The Swedish connection was that match sponsors were the Swedish firm SKF, who were based in Luton at the time. With all due respect to Luton, whilst they were in Division 1 in those days, it didn’t quite have the same attraction to it and certainly did not have the lush, green turf carpet of a Wembley stadium. Neither side were allowed a training session on the pitch to protect it! Both teams were allowed the luxury of their training ground, though, in the days leading up to the second leg. And then the weather turned, it must have been a dramatic shift of the jet stream or something equally biblical. The 24 h or so before the game England, or more specifically, Kenilworth Road, Luton, witnessed one the biggest cloud bursts this country has ever seen. No finely manicured, hybrid pitches with state-of-the-art drainage systems in those days. Just a layer of gooey mud covered with sand to “dry” it out. It is safe to say that in today’s climate for footballing excellence, the game would have 10  Sweden vs. England 12 May 1984 Ullevi Stadium Gothenburg, Sweden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otdUDOVBKwA accessed 8 December 2022.

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been called off. However, in those days, mud and goo were part of a footballer’s experience, and there was no contingency for such an event. The Swedes were unimpressed and both sides had to put their deflation aside. Going into the game, we had a quiet confidence about us in being able to pull back and overhaul the deficit, after all, most of us had experienced Elland Road “swamp” a year earlier. It is worth remembering, that Luton Town took the decision to change to a first-generation artificial pitch the following year because their playing surface was so bad. I laid the ball on for Linda Curl. Curly, too was in her element, with a couple of big strides forward from this policewoman and a quick look up, she unleashed a shot from out wide, over the keeper and into the back of the net. Scores were now level with 40 min left to play and I honestly thought we would go on to win it. The Swedes did dig in and battled on in the second half, causing Terri Irvine to make some more incredible saves to keep us in the game. Despite our upper hand, we could not convert any more chances. We had to settle for the 1-0 victory with an overall draw across the two legs. When the final whistle blew, I was so pleased we had won. After some quick conversations amongst match officials, UEFA, Swedish, and WFA representatives, it was decided that the final had to be finished on the day. That meant no replay or third leg. I think the match officials decided that it would be too dangerous to play on, so there was no extra time. In all honesty, parts of the pitch, particularly the centre circle, couldn’t take any more football on it. It was agreed that a hastily arranged penalty shoot-out was to be held, the scourge of English football. I still thought that our confidence would win the day but I knew that with the poor conditions it was far from over. Sadly, we all know what happened. We had played so well, but when it mattered, the Swedes struck the ball so much better than us. As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Analysis of the tournament shows that, in a 10-game tournament, played over 2 years, we had won nine games and lost one, scoring 28 goals, whilst only conceding three, the least of all the teams taking part. Whilst we had lost the two-legged final, we had beaten the number one ranked team in the world on that day. On some scales, as we had beaten the world number one ranked team in normal time, we were now ranked number one in the world. I lifted the runner-up shield with pride because, to this day, I know I captained a great England squad of players, borne out by us winning the Mundialito the following year. Despite the appalling weather, a great crowd of 2565 did turn up. I have to say I met no FA representatives that day. There was no interest from the British mainstream media and the game was filmed by a now defunct cable TV company, so, only a few excerpts of the game exist. Of course, the Swedes were accompanied by prominent Swedish FA representatives and around 36 press and media crew. I am sure the crowd would have been much bigger and more media coverage would have taken place had we managed to secure a Wembley appearance or one of the other top London grounds. In truth, whilst conditions were awful, it was a great game that could have showcased women’s football in this country. Indeed, after the game, I was asked about the match by the freelance TV Company who had recorded the game. My response, somewhat bluntly was, “If people don’t

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come to watch women’s football after that, then there something wrong with them!” Sadly, none of the national TV networks took up the recording and it was never televised in full. Coverage was restricted to a short 10-s clip on national TV news. The following morning after the final, I became the first woman footballer in this country to be interviewed on national television. During the interview with Selina Scott and Frank Bough on the BBC’s Breakfast programme, I was able to promote the women’s game. It is unfortunate that the impetus the women’s game that had started over that seven-week period covering the semi-finals and final, was not taken up by the FA or the media. Just think where the women’s game may have been in all the following years if they had. With that backing, who knows, England could have been the first ever name on that trophy and many, many more trophies. I often think of what the England women’s team could have achieved in those intervening years. Instead, we had to continue as a minority sport, run and governed by a tireless band of volunteers known as the WFA, funded by small hand-­ outs, sponsorship deals from smaller companies and, in most player’s cases, supported by friends and family.

As Carol herself now sums up the finale of her England career: The year 1985 was significant for me, just a year before I had played in a UEFA Final for National Representative Women’s Teams (this was its formal title, it could not be simply called the European Nations Cup) and now, 1 year on, I was winning my fiftieth cap. We played at Deepdale, the home of Preston North End, against Scotland. It was cold; the pitch was frozen, hard as a skating-rink with snow brushed off to behind the goals. In the current era, the game would have been called due to safety issues. After a slow start, we ran out 4-0 winners. After the game, I was privileged to have Sir Tom Finney award me my cap. Wow! A living legend of the English men’s game, and here he was presenting me with my fiftieth England cap. I had to pinch myself. It was only when I got home that I had time to start reflecting on what I’d achieved so far. England player at nineteen, England captain by 21, and a leading player for an unbroken 11 years, first English women to reach 50 caps and a European finalist and the prospect of leading England into another Mundialito (Little World Cup). Not bad for a girl from a footballing backwater. I also realised that my fiftieth cap as England ­captain was also within my reach. How that sounded, and what a driving force— the first English woman to captain England 50 times. My media appearances started to increase and I realised I had to promote our game. Short appearances in all the media, national and regional, were frequent. I like to think I gave our game its rightful exposure, albeit small written articles and timeslots. The birth of my first son saw me make the decision to retire from England. But it wasn’t long before I returned to help create a local side. I carried on, with no thought of an international return, but just to enjoy myself and hopefully pass on some knowledge and experience. Eventually, I was asked to captain the first East Riding County FA Women’s Squad when I was well into my forties. I eventually retired in 2009, aged 54. The legs were “going”, actually, the bruising was

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taking longer to disappear, I had too many mountains to climb and two grandsons to help to nurture. My involvement with our game has never really stopped. I have made several guest appearances at discussion groups, award ceremonies, and so on since my “retirement”, and my most recent involvement, November 2019, has seen me being appointed as the first Club Ambassador and Lifetime Honorary Member to Hull City Ladies AFC, with the aim to spread the word about our game (and our club, of course).

As we know with her media appearances with LinkedIn during the women’s Euros 2022, her British Empire Medal, and induction to the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, Carol Thomas is now rightly regarded as a pioneer. But her recognition for a lifetime of devotion to football has been very slow in coming. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with her and Alan on a range of projects to see her get greater recognition. Sometimes it is lovely to meet your heroes, and to find that they are inspiring people with whom to have a cup of tea.

Debbie Bampton MBE Debbie Bampton earned an eventual 95 caps for her country and would later lead the team to their first qualification to a Women’s World Cup in 1995 in Sweden. I interviewed Debbie in January 2020, asking her how did it all start? Debbie responded: I was born in 1961, the middle child of three daughters and my Dad was football mad.11 My sisters played a little bit, and we all watched but my Dad played for a men’s team. From the age of five up to 10, I played in the Primary school playground. At Secondary School, I was not allowed to play, but I did all sports anyway. One head teacher had me in the office to tell me not to play, and I wonder what she would have thought of my England career later? I used to have my football socks and my shorts under my other clothes and would play at break-time. I was the mascot for Dad’s club for a while and then, when I was 11, this would be the early Seventies, we discovered that there was a women’s team nearby, and we hadn’t heard of women or girls playing football before in a club, so I joined aged just 11. I was a midfielder, and my team was in Maidstone in Kent, where I played for 5 years, becoming, you know my own person. I kept playing at Maidstone where my Dad, Albert, had become the manager. But you know how people can be and some people were saying “Oh you do alright because your Dad is the manager”, so I joined Lowestoft at about the age of 20 for a while. There was a semi-final for the WFA cup, Lowestoft vs. Maidstone, but I missed my two clubs meeting because of a knee injury that was to plague my career later. Lowestoft went on to win the cup that year. I then moved to Howbury Grange, and Milwall Lionesses before going for a year to Italy with Despar Trani 80. It was a star-studded club with Scotland’s Rose Reilly as striker,  Debbie Bampton interview 11 January 2020.

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Conchi Amancio of Spain, Susanne Augustesen, Lone Schmidt Hansen, and Kerry Davis had all played for them. We finished runner’s up in both Serie A and the national cup. I came back and played for Millwall for 3 years, then joined Wimbledon before moving to Arsenal. We won the treble of League Cup, WFA Cup, and the league in 1992–1993 season. I was offered player manager at Croydon, where I stayed for 6 years, building the side. In 1995–1996, we won the League and the WFA Cup. Finally, when Croydon moved to Charlton, I joined Doncaster Belles in 2000. I was called up for England aged just 16, and was still at school when I made my debut against Holland away in 1978, when the manager was Tommy Tranter. We lost 3-1, and it was quite daunting to be playing against full-grown women when you are in your teens. But I loved the challenge. Eileen Lillymann debuted the same game. I was on the bench for the Belgium game at Southampton, the first at a Football League first division ground, and we had big sponsorship, something like £2000 from Martini & Rossi. But some of the tours I couldn’t go on as I couldn’t get time off school. I scored my first goal for England vs. Wales at Warminster in 1980, playing at number four, although I was a midfielder really. Later, Martin Reagan moved me to five then six and I had more chance for attacking midfield play. Later Martin moved me forward again, to be more attacking as a number eight. My game was box-to-box, to win back the ball and set up chances for others. I was energetic and strong in the tackle. I wasn’t a natural goal scorer, like a forward, but for these reasons sometimes Martin Reagan would play me up front as a number 10 or 11, as he did against Belgium in 1984 in the Mundialito, but mainly I played as a number seven or eight, depending on the formation. I scored again out in Japan, playing as number fifteen because of the alphabetical system they used, then we lost to Denmark but it was amazing to get the chance to travel. When we used to go abroad, to Japan in 1981, and so on in the eighties, Flo Bilton and Pat Gregory used to come, and so did June Jaycocks and Linda Whitehead. Almost like chaperones, but we had a good time all of us anyway. After all, we were amateurs and giving up our time for our country and the WFA never had any money. A great occasion that we are not always credited with, from that era was the European cup Final in 1984 at Luton. Well first, it was a big achievement to beat Denmark over two legs to get into the final. Overall, I scored my seven goals for England. When we beat Denmark over two legs to get the European finals in April 1984, I was really pleased to score the winner in both games, so that move to an eight really paid off. Although I scored my penalty in the Final, it was all a bit hastily arranged with no added extra time, due to the state of the pitch, so it was a bitter disappointment, although we beat them in normal time on the day. We had held Sweden to a 1-0 lead in Gothenburg, and we equalised in the second leg at Luton, eventually losing 4-3 on penalties. I scored my penalty and we just lost by one! Pia Sundhage was some player! With my knee, the WFA had a scheme where you could be sponsored for overseas opportunities, and I was offered to go to New Zealand when I was about twenty-one, and I took the chance. But I had done my knee for the first time just before, so I went on crutches and, well they butchered me really, operating on my knee and it wasn’t right from then on. I was out for five months and aged twenty-­ two I missed about a year playing for England. There were no permanent physios

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then, you’d just get someone like Anthony Brightwell, or Maurice Lovey for a game or so, so there was no access to sports science or recovery programmes. By then I was playing for Millwall Lionesses where Hope was also playing and had twenty-two England caps. I was made captain on my return by Martin Reagan. Carol Thomas was injured, in May 1985. I was very proud, aged twenty-three, when Martin asked me to captain against Wales, where we scored six and kept a clean sheet. I was also working as a civil servant. When Carol retired at the end of 1985, it was my chance to become full-time captain, and we ran out in March 1986 in a UEFA qualifying match against Northern Ireland at Blackburn with a 10-0 victory. By then I think I’d got nearly thirty caps so was well established. We had a really good run until June 1987, we met Sweden in the semi-final, played in Moss Norway when they beat us 3-2 in extra time. Then we lost the third place playoff, to Italy, so finished fourth. Another memorable time was playing against Sweden at Wembley for the first time in May 1989. I had another knee operation aged twenty-seven and then I played for England until the age of thirty-seven, mainly by keeping myself really fit. I used to train twice a day. Mainly weightlifting, squash, and badminton. I was captain until I was injured in March 1990 and Gill took over against Belgium, from then on it switched, depending on who was fit. I remembered commenting that the USA would develop really quickly when we won 1-0 against USA B in Blaine on 7 August 1990, and then lost two days later to the full squad, 9 August 1990, by three goals to nil before drawing against Russia. Martin Reagan used five substitutes trying to change our formation, and the fitness of the USA players was evident. Another milestone was when we qualified in 1995 for the Women’s World Cup in Sweden, and the likes of myself and Brenda Sempare could not have envisaged that we would be doing that when we started playing as little girls. It was really special to represent your country. I had a season at Despar Trani 80 in Italy with Kerry Davis and Rose Reilly, who had a sports shop, so she did really well. It was the opportunity to play professional football at the highest level available, and it did my football good. I only stayed for one season, but we were runners-up the Serie A and national cup, so that was a good result. Then back to Millwall Lionesses. In all I played for my country for twenty-one years. I finished under the FA, and manager Ted Copeland in 1997, and whereas we used to get a plaque of all our games under the WFA, I didn’t get a memento. No ‘Thank you for your services’ letter, nothing. Bearing in mind, we were strictly amateurs, and had to keep ourselves in shape mostly, doing that until the age of thirty-seven was difficult, but I loved football, and I would have carried on. I had strong opinions about our fitness and training more. I expressed these to Ted Copeland, after we had lost to the US. When the US started playing we used to beat them, and we could beat them by a few goals. But they improved so much, so fast and took it very seriously with training every day. I didn’t play again after that for England, as it wasn’t always welcome to have an opinion. In my final match as captain in May 1997, we lost 6-0 to the USA in Portland. I moved on after my last game for England to Croydon as player-manager, then onto the Bromley League. I had two seasons at Whitehawk FC Ladies with Angie Banks and joined Lewes on the coaching staff. I had knee replacement

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surgery eight years ago. I was also fortunate to become the first woman player to be awarded an MBE, which I liked to think of as a “thank you” to my Mum and Dad, for driving me all over, for all those years and supporting my interests. Even now, my Dad is eighty-seven and still refereeing, if there is a game on I know we will be thinking the same thing over the tactics and so on.

It is clear that, had there been better medical care, and a strength and resistance regime, as well as recovery facilities, Debbie would undoubtedly have been a centurion. Had her comments about the USA been listened to, and acted upon, she could well have joined the technical directorate. Bampton was not alone in aspiring to coach. In 1987, Michelle Cockburn from Guiseley, Leeds, became the first woman to obtain the FA Advanced coaching licence, conventionally known as the A licence. The qualification was the highest level, until the advent of the Premiership and UEFA Pro Licence, which Hope Powell obtained as the first English woman in 2003. Sue Lopez joined Michelle in obtaining the A licence in 1990, and it is telling that there were over 1000 men with the qualification at the time of their achievement. Both Lopez and Cockburn went on to work in football professionally, the latter as Sports Council-funded female football development officer at the FA. Later in 1990 the FA appointed three regional development officers to accelerate growth: Julie Fogarty in the North, Kelly Simmons in the South, and Helen Jevons in the Midlands.

Gill Coultard I have met Gill Coultard on a number of occasions, including at the unveiling of a plaque in her honour in Doncaster in 2022. What follows is a summary of our conversations, in the third person. She is lovely, friendly, inspiring, and welcoming, but also a very private person. Gill, born 1963, started playing with her siblings, four brothers and three sisters, mainly on the green spaces outside her house. She would go on to become the first woman, and the first amateur to win 100 caps in an era when the WFA, and then the FA, funded about four internationals annually. Most of her twenty-year England career took place before there was a Women’s World Cup tournament, first held in 1991, and Olympic women’s football tournament, first held in 1996, made more internationals routine. The achievement of 119 caps would stand until 2012, when Rachel Yankey, playing in the era of increased professionalisation and internationals, obtained 120 caps. In a road in the village of Thorne about a mile long, the green outside Gill’s house would be the ‘home’ pitch, while those further down the street were designated as ‘away’. Tournaments up and down the road included football, cricket, and a range of other sports. Gill’s first proper club was the junior school team, and she had signed with the famous Doncaster Belles by the age of thirteen, when she also began to trial for England, attending North vs. South, Possibles vs. Probables, and several other training camps.

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Her first England cap came in May 1981, and she came on as a sub in a 3-1 win over the Republic of Ireland, along with Angela Gallimore. This was not the only first. The flight to Ireland was the first time Gill had been on a plane, and the first time away from her family. The camaraderie of the England team more than made up for these life changes. Like Carol Thomas, Gill’s first England cap was home-made by Flo Bilton and issued by the WFA, since the FA did not yet want to take full control of women’s football. As we’ve seen, Gill took over briefly for Debbie Bampton in March 1990 against Belgium, and then more frequently in 1991. Gill’s full captaincy came in 1991 when Debbie Bampton, with whom she roomed as an England international, was injured. She describes the experience as ‘surreal…to play football for your country, to play at Wembley, and to captain your country, you ask yourself, wow is it really happening?’ Indeed, by 18 August 1990, Gill was playing her fiftieth cap for England against Italy, and although the team suffered a 4-1 loss, it was a curtain raiser for the men’s Charity Shield match, and, had Carolina Morace not been on quite such good form to score all four Italian goals, a more enjoyable experience for the hosts. The next match was at Old Trafford, a 0-0 loss to Norway, followed by another 0-0 draw to Finland in Tampere. This meant that England had the rest of 1990 to beat Germany, as opposed to West Germany in November, and then a second leg in December near Bochum. A very experienced England squad lost the first leg at Wycombe Wanderers 1-4, and the second in Germany 2-0, for an aggregate 6-1 loss. Hence, this was to be Martin Reagan’s final match as manager, and England failed to qualify for the inaugural Women’s World Cup the next year. As captain for both Germany games, this was a considerable disappointment for Gill. There was some confusion, and there remains disagreement, about what happened next, on what is generally referred to as ‘the Bulgaria tour’, but Gill did not travel. The programme notes for the April 1991 game against the USSR record that Liz Deighan was in charge, supported by June Jaycocks, Tony Blair, and Stuart Porter. Terry Wiseman, another player with almost sixty caps by this time, took over as captain in a 1-1 draw at the Sparta Varna Stadium. Players were advised: Travelling uniforms to be black or multi Adidas. No jeans to be worn on the trip. The red England jumper was to be worn, along with white/pink/blue England leisure shirts, or white blouse, and navy trousers, with navy or black shoes. A 0-0 match against China followed, and then a 2-0 loss to Sweden. A number of new squad players were trialled, not least, the force of nature that was the tough tackling Samantha Britton. Back on home soil at Wycombe Wanderers, against Scotland, Gill again re-­ took the armband and England celebrated with a 5-0 win. Theresa Wiseman taking her sixtieth cap to equal Linda Curl’s record, and a first win for new manager, Barrie Williams, in front of 850 people. Wendy Toms officiated the match as assistant referee and would go on, of course, to have a pioneering career as a leading woman in black.

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The rest of Barrie Williams’ tenure in 1991, ending with a 1-0 win over the USSR at Brighton and Hove Albion is still a point of dispute, as record keeping was so poor. The WFA kept squads not necessarily formations, and records stopped in 1990, soon after June Jaycocks also retired as international officer. So we have tried to triangulate the evidence to verify where we can from other sources, but newspapers and the like can also be problematic because it was usually a WFA person, often a lone Cathy Gibb as press secretary who wrote the releases, and at what point they were prepared, only to be overtaken by events now remains conjecture. Williams certainly switched the captaincy between Coultard and Bampton. But huge sacrifices were required on a personal level. Like many women at the time, Gill had to travel increasing distances to play at the highest level in order to keep her England place, including a five-year spell at Rowntree Ladies in York, and travelling to Castleford for club football. The usual format was twice a week club training, and personal fitness, on top of working five days a week on the production line at a Pioneer factory in Castleford, and sometimes weekends. Gill was one of the fortunate ones, as her employer allowed her to use paid leave for time off for internationals, valuing the fact that she was representing her country. ‘We had eleven captains for England, every time we played,’ Gill told me, ‘everyone was a captain.’ Gill’s style of play could be described as 110% committed: a box-to-box midfielder, robust on the tackle, a winner who disliked losing, and one who felt the responsibility to help others on the team as part of her leadership legacy. Gill couldn’t remember her fiftieth cap, as no special celebration took place. Her 100th cap came against Scotland and, in October 1997, before a 1999 World Cup qualifier against Holland at Upton Park, she was presented with a silver cap, and silver lion memento by Sir Geoff Hurst. Fifteen years later, the FA presented her with a gold cap, as it had done men who reached the century milestone. The first woman, and first amateur, considering how few games were played in her era, Gill did not receive her MBE until the 2021 New Year Honours list, and considering how many younger England players had received this distinction, it was beyond way overdue. An FA official once tried to justify this to me by arguing that the younger players had ‘done a lot for charity’. To which I pointed out that when Carol Thomas, Debbie Bampton, Gill Coultard captained their country, playing for England women was a charity in itself, as players volunteered their time, and often their own money to take part. In Gill’s case from 1981 to 2000. In 1992, John Bilton took over as manager from Barrie Williams, and with Coultard as his captain, won 1-0 against Scotland in April at Bescot Stadium Walsall; followed by a 4-0 defeat of Iceland in Yeovil in May; victorious 2-1 against Iceland in the second leg at Kopavogur; triumphant 2-0 over Scotland in Perth in August, and suffering the first loss of the year to Italy on Avellino in October 3-2. At the second leg for the women’s Euro qualifiers at Rotherham FC, Italy came out 3-0 up for an aggregate of 6-2. At the end of 1992, Bilton

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stood down in favour of Ted Copeland, and this was to be a particularly difficult time for the captaincy, as the former team mates became rivals for the armband. In 1993, it was Gill Coultard who served the captaincy in the first three of Copeland’s games, starting with a 10-0 win against Slovenia in September, their largest win to date in which she received her seventieth cap. This was followed by a 3-0 win over Belgium in November, and a 0-0 draw with Spain near Seville in late December. It perhaps speaks to the enthusiasm of the FA that it took from England women’s last game under the WFA on 7 November 1992, to 25 September 1993 to organise their own first game. Furthermore, it definitely is telling for this project that record-keeping was so poor that WFA records were often merely ignored, and the counting started again under the FA era. A smooth transition it was not. What is often missed about Gill Coultard’s career, given her eventual number of caps, was her ability to lead by scoring goals in important games to qualify for the Women’s World Cup in 1995, this is an incredible achievement, and one which deserves greater honour in public life. The 1994 season began with a 0-0 match against Spain in February at Braford City FC. Then in March, Coultard scored as captain in a 6-0 victory over Belgium at Notts Forest’s City Ground. In April, Slovenia were again treated to a 10-0 defeat, at Brentford FC with a brace from the captain. On 8 October, Coultard was to score again as captain vs. Iceland in Rekjavik in a 2-0 win, and in the return leg on 30 October at Brighton and Hove Albion, she was to score the first England goal in a 2-1 triumph. But the festivities were brought to an abrupt close, when Germany took control 4-1 in December 1994. Copeland remained a controversial choice as manager, since he had never played professional football, unlike many of the earlier coaches; he had not coached women, and had earned most of his coaching experience in Saudi Arabia, and was also the regional Director of Community Coaching Development in the North. Being England women’s manager was not therefore his priority. Driving up standards is always admirable, but many players found the training camps a chore, paternalistic, and infantilising with stories of people who wore the wrong tracksuit sent home never to be selected again, and worse still, the female Doctor being asked to drop players in a public hotel bar, while the coach remained implacable. I explored some of these comments in A Game for Rough Girls in 2003, attending a training camp in 1997, and found the general tone of the accusations to have merit with what I saw.12 Julie Hemsley, who worked with Copeland, frequently reminded players that they should remember who they represented. Doncaster Belles players particularly seemed to suffer from the publicity of Pete Davies and his book, I Lost My Heart to the Belles.13 The television documentary went out in January 1994, 12  Jean Williams A Game For Rough Girls: a history of women’s football (Oxon: Routledge, 2003) p. 75. 13  Pete Davies I Lost My Heart to the Belles: story of the Doncaster Belles (London: Mandarin, 1997).

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and, sure enough, Debbie Bampton was then appointed captain. Joanne Broadhurst would undoubtedly have played more games for England had Copeland not reacted in such a draconian way to the programme. Gill returned for the captaincy against Germany, in February 1995, a 2-1 loss, but by May, the captaincy for the World Cup had been handed to Bampton, and the last game before the tournament against Sweden ended in a 4-0 loss with many of the players demoralised. Coultard responded by scoring England women’s first goal at a world cup, with a converted penalty on 41  min. Marieanne Spacey scored the second goal, another converted penalty, and Coultard the third, a typical response for her team to what must have been a bitter disappointment. A 2-0 loss to Norway followed in which both the scorers in the previous match were substituted when England were already down to that score line by half time. A narrow 3-2 win over Nigeria was followed by more odd tactics in a 3-0 loss to Germany when Coultard was substituted for Becky Easton. Lou Waller and Samantha Britton were brought on in the 79 and 87 min, but were unable to change the play. By now, Easton, Kelly Smith and a new generation began to break through, and Coultard continued to score important goals in 1996 and 1997 and to recover the captaincy. Ultimately, she survived the Copeland managership, as he left at the end of 1997, with Dick Bate acting as Trainer for a number of matches before Hope Powell took over in July 1998. Joanne Broadhurst, thankfully, also made a return to the squad. Coultard played on until 2000 before retiring, as captain in a 1-0 win over Switzerland on 13 May 2000, but she was a non-playing member of the squad which lost to Norway 8-0, in June, retiring altogether soon after from internationals. Briefly coaching, there was a huge opportunity lost when she was not more supported to stay as part of the England set-up, as her successor as captain Maureen Marley, undoubtedly was. But the legacy that the 100 caps was possible, over twenty years and changes of management style, had been proven, and seems even more ground-breaking in retrospect.

Kerry Davis I have met Kerry Davis on several occasions and was her guest when she was inducted to the National Football Museum Hall of Fame in December 2022 when I also met several of her family members. This is a composite of our conversations. As Debbie Bampton mentioned above, England’s Kerry Davis, also played professional football in Italy in the mid-1980s. Davis was one of the first Black-­ British players to put on an England shirt, as Kerry’s Dad has Caribbean heritage, part of the Windrush generation who had served in the Royal Air Force and later migrated to England. Kerry’s mother is white British, and the family are based in Stoke-on-Trent. Along with Ireland’s Anne O’Brien, Scotland’s Rose Reilly, and other English players like Sue Lopez, Dot Cassell, and Jan

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Lyons, Kerry played professionally in Italy just as different forms of commercialism saw the leagues established, and expand. Kerry Davis played for four years in Italy from 1985 to 1989 in between spells with Crewe Alexandria. She is the first player listed in England programmes as professional footballer. But before we look at this aspect of her career, I asked her how it all started. Kerry told me: I was born in August 1962  in the Sneyd Green area of Stoke-on-Trent, the youngest of three children, with an older brother and sister. When I was ten, the family moved to the village of Harriseahead, North of Stoke and my brother delivered milk up the road to the family of Tina Birchall, who knew of, and played for, a women’s team called Sandbach Ladies, in Cheshire. As I was just eleven years old, Tina considered me to be too young to join the women’s team, but took me to training anyway. I stayed until I was sixteen, when I joined Crewe, a better team, where I remained until I was 23 years of age. For England, I debuted on 19 September 1982 against Northern Ireland, at Crewe Alexandra FC in front of about 350 people, scoring two goals, and it was very special to do that almost on a home ground. The manager at the time for the WFA, Martin Reagan, gave me my opportunity and I took it! I scored all four goals in my second match, a 4-0 victory against Scotland in Dumbarton, and followed with the winning goal against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin when we won 1-0. That saw out 1982, my debut year, and in our first match of 1983, against Northern Ireland in Belfast, I got two of the four goals, the others being scored by Pat Chapman and Linda Curl. I felt I had repaid the manager’s confidence in me. Soon an integral part of the squad, I had a good run during England’s success in the inaugural UEFA women’s Euros held over two years, between 1982 and 1984, scoring twelve goals in ten games. Denmark was a particularly good game for England in the semi-finals, because they had been world number one. I was to score again at Crewe Alexandria FC on 8 April 1984 in the first semi-final, where we won 2-1. In the finals, England lost narrowly to Sweden on penalties, over a two-legged final, with the second game played at Luton Town in 1984. The conditions were terrible! I was one of the three England players to score her penalty in the penalty shootout, after Sweden and England drew on aggregate at full time. Pia Sundhage went one better scoring the fourth penalty, for Sweden, for the victory! Although I missed the 1984 Mundialito, or little world cup, in Italy in 1984, where England finished third, I had a great start to 1985. First, we beat Scotland in the Euro qualifiers in March 4-0 and I got the third goal. Then we played Northern Ireland in Belfast on 25 May 1985, and I scored five goals our of our tally of eight. In August, we played Wales in Ramsey Isle of Man and I got another of our 6-0 goals, with Hope Powell getting two. The programme said I had 13 caps by then, but it felt like I had more, and it said ‘must be the best goal-scorer the England team have had. Kerry is a student and enjoys all types of sport and music.’14 14  Wales v England 17 August 1985 held at the Ballaclon Stadium, Ramsey to celebrate 100 years of football on the Island WFA p. 2, author’s collection.

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Although I started the first two matches as a number two, for defensive reasons against Denmark and Italy in the opening games, I was then a leading forward in the August 1985 Mundialito, also in Italy, with an important goal against Italy in the group stages, followed by a 3-1 victory over the USA in Caorle. Against Italy in the final, also in Caorle, we had an historic 3-2 win over the hosts, and I was noted again by the papers. Winning the Mundialito was widely reported back in England and also in Italy. This created opportunities to play professionally. Prompted by the signing of Irish midfielder Anne O’Brien, I signed for Roi Lazio, for one season, along with fellow England striker Marieanne Spacey who did not enjoy the experience and soon returned home. I moved to Trani for two seasons from 1986 to 1988, forming part of the strike force with Rose Reilly, with Anne O’Brien having transferred to Lazio by then. I was at one point traded for the great Italian international Carolina Morace, some accolade! The Italian leagues could perhaps better be understood as semi-professional, with several of the Italian players travelling across the country on night trains to play on a Saturday, after working. But the foreign players, like me, did not work and played football full time. It was a serious business. Accommodation was also provided, with four players sharing an apartment, and a full backroom staff to provide support for the players including, at Lazio a coach, a manager, a goalkeeping coach, a doctor, and a physiotherapist. The teams were all sponsored by businesses, either national or international names, like Despar, the Italian brand of the Spar convenience store chain, or local businesses who often had fashion or clothing brands, including accessories like sunglasses. For England, I was already well established before I went to Italy but had to pay for my own flights to join the national team for both training and matches. I was expected to make matches for which I was selected regardless of club commitments, otherwise there was a real chance that I would not be selected for England in future, even though I was playing in a professional league. This was not easy! Initially in 1986, being able to play professionally did me good, in spite of the travel. In the opening match of 1986, played in March against Northern Ireland at Ewood Park, home of Blackburn Rovers FC, we ran out 10-0 winners and I scored a hat-trick. In April, against Ireland at Reading FC, we again won 4-0 and I contributed half the goals. Then on to Kirkaldy Scotland for the remaining England fixture that year, in October against Scotland where I scored within 3 min in a 3-1 win. The calendar year 1987 also began well with England, and I scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Ireland in Dublin. I also made it over to Moss Norway, for the semi-final in the Euros against nemesis Sweden when we lost 3-2, with goals from Jackie Sherrard and myself, and scored a penalty against Italy in the third place playoff, but we lost 2-1. My final year in Italy with Napoli was hard work, and I decided to return to the UK. I got a job in a factory which I detested and played club football for Crewe, Croydon, and Knowsley which became Liverpool. I ended 16 years with England in 1998.

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Conclusion This period of stability under Martin Reagan’s leadership enabled players like Carol Thomas, then Linda Curl, Terry Wiseman, Hope Powell, Karen Walker, Marieanne Spacey, Brenda Sempare, Kerry Davis, and Debbie Bampton to their first fifty caps. As has been mentioned due to space, not all of these players’ careers could be covered in detail, and other historians will no doubt rectify that. Considering that club football was relatively volatile at this time, with lots of clubs moving between venues, and changes of personnel in what was a very amateur national league, it is a huge testimony to these players that they kept themselves so fit between the relatively scarce internationals in which they could play. It was an even more Herculean task for Gill Coultard to eventually reach 100 caps, as only the fourth England player behind Billy Wright, Sir Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, and Peter Shilton. Gill was the first amateur to do so, and her name precedes England greats like David Beckham and ParaOlympians David Clarke and Stephen Daly. It further underlines the point that when we consider that Rachel Yankey was the next woman to get to 100 caps, she did so in an era of some semi-­ professional contracts, and with more internationals scheduled due to there being both world cups and Euros fixtures, as well as a much more stable national league. As we have seen, under the Copeland managership, to play for England was more of a chore than a joy. But he had attempted to increase funding for nutrition, recovery, sports science, and strength and conditioning. Unfortunately, many of the qualifiers for Women’s World Cup 1999 would be played in the period of transition from Copeland to Powell managed by Dick Bate, and England would not qualify again until 2007. As the 1980s drew to a close, a more constructive relationship grew between the FA and the WFA, coalescing in the person of Richard Faulkener, a professional lobbyist and Labour parliamentary candidate, who was Chair of the Football Trust, and became the new Chair of the WFA. The Football Trust allocated grants to both professional and grassroots clubs for stadium improvements, and community activities. Faulkener had the contacts in male football, and in politics, to engineer financial gains in spite of the all-pervading FA and Football League attitude that women’s football was an economic drain rather than being a financial asset. In 1990, it was announced that the Trust had allocated £150,000 to establish an eight-club National Women’s League to be launched in the 1991–1992 season. By then 334 clubs were affiliated to the WFA, populated by 9000 registered players. This was modest at best. Almost 750,000 players were registered in West Germany alone. The feminisation of football fandom was by now under way, as professional club marketing departments sought a ‘family’ audience of high-spending, affluent, and peaceful supporters rather than groups of violent, mainly young, male fans for whom football was a space to perform in chauvinistic groups, often fuelled by alcohol. That the latter was an influential media minority

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mattered little, or that the rhetoric of family was designed to encourage people to look after themselves, rather than rely on the state, continued from the Thatcher government to the Major years. John Major showed what a myth the proverbial nuclear family and its supposed values were, through his four-year affair while in office with fellow Conservative MP Edwina Curry, while both were married to other people, but it was an influential fabrication in Tory politics nevertheless. It still is. The supposed feminisation of football also ignored the LGBTQIA+ communities who were gaining stronger voice at this time, and ignored the fact that the invented tradition that all women footballers were lesbians, contained an important kernel of truth, that many women had found other women through football, either for serious relationships, friendship, community, and support. If an individual’s aspiration for their own future did not include joining a nuclear family, of two heterosexual people, two kids and a dog, then football was a marginal space of empowerment to imagine a different kind of family for oneself, perhaps a family of friends. As evidence of how the football governing bodies just did not get this, or did not want to get this, a rather disastrous FA campaign in 1986 called the ‘Friends of Football’ had an almost exclusive focus on young boys getting into the game, along with their doting fathers and mothers, the latter of whom was responsible for washing the kit, which they did with great satisfaction. As stereotypical as it was short-lived, it reflected that the FA had little interest in, let alone awareness of, women’s and girls’ football and its constituent communities, just 2 years after England women had reached the first major final of the national team since 1966. However, it was not just on the pitch. On the terraces, the Football Supporters Association offered a national focus, for fans with a social conscience. It took a while for the gender balance of the organisation to diversify, but it did allow women to contest the idea of them wanting to support from ‘safe’ spaces in the grounds as opposed to the traditional terrace culture, and to articulate their fandom as authentic. The Hillsborough disaster in 1989, drew attention to poor facilities for fans, and an all-seater stadium experience which expressly viewed women as a civilising influence on football crowds generally.15 It mattered little that many women fans wanted an authentic terrace experience. Or that as many male fans were as excluded by crowd violence, as were women. Arguably, what changed the fan experience more than anything else was the advent of the Premiership, which gradually drew in what Roy Keane would go on to call the ‘prawn sandwich brigade’ to a greater extent than the Pukka 15  Simon Inglis ‘A brief history of the Hillsborough disaster and justice campaigner Anne Williams’ History Extra https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/hillsborough-­ disaster-­football-history-what-happened-explained-anne-williams-itv-who-responsible-victims-­ margaret-­thatcher-sun-newspaper-inquest-legal/ accessed 8 December 2022.

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Pie-­eating plebeians. Also for major tournaments, the cultural shift in the men’s world cup Italia 90 drew its references from Pavarotti and Opera with the soundtrack ‘Nessun Dorma’, Sophia Loren helped with the Final draw at the Palazzetto dello Sport in Rome, the poster referenced the Colloseum with a football pitch at its centre, the final was held at the Stadio Olimpico, and it was at that time the most widely mediated World Cup to audiences, including audiences new to football, especially with the success of African nations. World Cups had always been political, but in the 1990s, after hundreds of millions of pounds, Italy put on the biggest World Cup spectacular yet, setting the trend for tournaments to be an exercise in cultural cool, legacy-defining infrastructural development, and national branding to a global audience. Football was now selling itself as sophisticated spectacle, perceiving itself as open to those who would go to the theatre, or the Opera, as the stadium. Pity the football itself was not so great in 1990. It is in the context of this change in economic circumstances of the football industry that the next chapter explores.

CHAPTER 4

The Hope Powell Era, Mary Phillip, and the Kelly Smith Effect

Introduction This chapter concerns the role that Hope Powell had in revolutionising women’s football in England, not just as the first full-time national coach, but as the head of a technical department that sought to prevent the drain of national squad players to overseas club leagues, especially the USA. Simultaneously, Kelly Smith, by far the most talented player of her generation went to the USA on a scholarship for Seton Hall University, but found it personally challenging to deal with the move overseas. Both Powell and Smith have written autobiographies about their careers, detailing their physical and mental health choices to deal with such large-scale social change, and the relative isolation of being a pioneer. However, Mary Phillip has only recently been acknowledged as the first Black captain of the England women’s national team, so I have included her story here. So this chapter covers the Hope Powell Era between 1998 and 2013, when she first appointed Phillip as captain, and the growing media profile of Kelly Smith, once referred to on the BBC website as the first professional woman footballer in the UK. Firstly though, there is a brief contextual discussion of the Ted Copeland managership which predated Powell’s appointment in 1998.

From Copeland to Powell As we have seen in the previous chapter, having had success in the women’s Euros in 1984, reaching the semi-finals in 1987, and failing to get out of the group stages in 1989, England had failed to qualify for the inaugural Women’s World Cup in China in 1991, through losing to Germany in November 1990 at Wycombe Wanderers, and then a second leg in December near Bochum. A very experienced England squad lost 1-4, and the second in Germany 2-0, for

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an aggregate 6-1. The final in 1991 was won by the USA, and it reflected the relative underfunding, neglect, and virtual irrelevance to the FA of women’s football that the national team, which used to regularly beat the USA less than a decade earlier had now failed even to qualify to contest the final. Instead, Title IX, a federal law which regulated educational funds equally between the genders, enacted in 1972, saw the US female collegiate system embrace soccer in ways that it had not before, and almost 30 years later, the US squad were fitter, faster, and used to daily practice in their respective college teams, helped by an array of coaches, physical therapy experts, nutrition and recovery regimes, of which their English counterparts could only dream. Golden boot winner, Michelle Akers-Stahl, with 10 goals, and captain April Heinrichs, formed a ‘triple-edged sword’ strike-force with Carin Jennings.1 Hence, these were to be Martin Reagan’s final matches as manager and a period of rebuilding ensued, albeit cautious, and hardly joyful. In 1995, when England did debut in the official FIFA Women’s World Cup competition, it was alongside Australia and Canada. Since this tournament, held in Sweden, which became the first country to hold a men’s and women’s world cup, also operated as the qualifier for the inaugural Olympic women’s football competition, there were additional motivations to do well. But, although the eight quarter-finalists would be invited to become Olympians, in the UK, this was overseen by Team GB, and resistance to conceding the governance of football to that organisation by the four home nations was such that this would not be possible at this stage for England women to go to Atlanta in 1996. In 1995, the teams included the hosts, Denmark, England, Germany, and Norway alongside China and Japan from the Asian Football Confederation, Australia from Oceano Football Confederation, Nigeria from the African Football Confederation, Brazil from CONMEBOL, or the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol, or South American Confederation, and Canada and the USA from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, or CONCACAF.  The draw was held at a hotel in Helsingborg, at an event open to the public, but was not televised. In England’s group B, Norway took first place winning all three games, Coultard and Spacey despatched Canada 3-2, and Nigeria lost 3-2, thanks to a brace from new star striker Karen Farley, and a goal from established talent Karen ‘Kaz’ Walker. After a 2-0 loss to Norway, England advanced in the group in second place. In the quarter-finals against Germany, Martina Voss struck first, Maren Meinert soon after, and in the second half, Heidi Mohr, to send England home. There was not much of a post-mortem after the 1995 departure as expectation had not been that high. There were Euros matches to qualify for, and players worked hard on their own fitness, pleased to have pioneered England women’s first world cup matches. They would have to wait some time 1  FIFA World Football Museum The Official History of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (London: Carlton Press, 2019) p. 63.

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before their next world cup tournament in 2007. England next reached the finals of the Women’s Euros in 2009, losing resoundingly to Germany 6-2. After a brief stellar career with England between 1994 and 1996, striker Karen Farley would suffer an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, which ended what promised to be a prolific international career due to a lack of sports medicine support. After moving from Millwall Lionesses to play her club football in Sweden with Lindsdals IF in 1992–1993 season, and then Hammarby IF DFF, Farley would score at least one goal for each of her eight England caps including on her debut against Germany, in a 4-1 loss at Vicarage Road Watford in December 1994. On 25 January 1995, she scored the equaliser in a friendly against Italy in Florence, before helping again with a goal in the ill-fated Germany return in Bochum. She scored two goals against Nigeria at the Women’s World Cup in 1995. Scoring again in two later Euro-qualifying matches, Farley contributed a brace in a 5-0 win against Croatia in November 1995, and her final strike in a 5-0 demolition of Portugal away at Benavente in February 1996. Eight goals, in nine games. Then she was gone. Returning to Hammarby, she moved to Tyresö FF and remained in Sweden. After the Ted Copeland years, when Dick Bate, assisted by Simon Smith, oversaw his last game as caretaker trainer against the Netherlands in May 1998, in a 2-1 loss, it was probably already too late for England to qualify for the 1999 Women’s World Cup in the USA. Although they had won a home fixture at Upton Park 1-0, thanks to Sue Smith, in October 1997, England finished bottom of a European ‘Group of Death’ which included Norway and Germany who had both won multiple European championships. In a May 1998 qualifier with Norway, England suffered a 2-1 defeat in which it was contested whether Norway scored or England helped with an own goal. Away against the Netherlands England lost 2-1 later in May with the only consolation a goal from Karen Walker. In August, newly in place, Hope Powell oversaw a 2-0 loss to Norway in Lillestrøm. Powell’s technical team included Lloyd Scott as assistant coach, the physiotherapist Jill Chapman, Doctor Mary Dowd, and Lindsey Jackson as administrator. So, England did not qualify for the 1999 Women’s World Cup, finishing bottom of their group, but retained their place as a top-16 Euro nation by winning a single game. A watershed moment for the women’s game, particularly under FIFA control, the 93,000 in the Rose Bowl for the final was a record-breaking crowd but was of course diminished by Mexico 1971 and what was achieved there. Under Powell, England had a problematic journey in the expanded European Championships, from 1989 to 2009, and, eventually qualified again for the 2007 Women’s World Cup Finals in China. England reached the quarter-finals. Under Powell’s leadership, a limited number of central contracts were issued in 2009, changing the old guard. In 2009, England reached the finals of the European championship for the first time in 25 years, and qualified for the 2011 World Championship in Germany. However, the growing professionalisation in England was highlighted by accelerated advances in other women’s national teams. After the highs of Team GB’s women’s performances in London

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2012, Powell was fired after a disappointing 2013 European Championship campaign. In many ways, the career of Kelly Smith, and her England team mates, such as Sue Smith, deserved better infrastructure, better financing, and better respect. She was definitely born too soon for the blazeratti at the FA to catch up with her global skills as an icon. The discussion examines England players, like Kelly Smith who chose to go to the USA on sports scholarships, and those who did not, like Sue Smith. The more widespread use of women pundits, officials, and the nodes of migration, to which England players might move are also explored. The chapter also looks at Powell’s role in the establishment of the Women’s Super League, and some of the overseas players who subsequently signed to play in English teams.

Hope Born in 1966, Powell therefore arrived when the ban on women’s football was still in place, the same year that England men won the world cup on home soil. Powell describes in her autobiography playing on the council estate in Greenwich where she grew up, in the British Oxygen cages, which hadn’t been used for years to house gas canisters, but were useful space for football in her youth.2 She also recounts at the age of 10 visiting her relatives in Jamaica, and becoming very aware of her heritage and links with her wider Jamaican identity. In her autobiography, Hope, Powell describes herself as a ‘Londoner through and through’, but the visit to her extended family in Bull Savannah, a copper mining region of Jamaica in 1976, gave her a fierce loyalty to family and friends, communal values and sharing. This experience also instilled self-reliance, which would be important as Hope Powell wanted to be a professional footballer. Back at school, with Jane Bartley, who was later to become an international for Wales, Powell played in the school team, Abbey Wood, until the ruling of the Theresa Bennett case referred to earlier in previous chapters was used to prevent them playing in mixed teams at school. Although referred to the Equal Opportunities Commission, as had many other examples, this was practically useless with the FA instead sending out letters about what a great set of initiatives it had in place to develop girls’ football; just not practically actually helping girls to play football. Founded in 1971, Millwall women had a youth section, which was extremely unusual at the time. Bartley was already a member and introduced Powell to the set-up, which took girls from the age of eight upwards. Initially as a junior in 1978, and then making her senior debut in 1980–81 season, Powell concentrated on increasing her fitness, physical strength, and continued her forensic reading of the game. Through coach-mentor Alan May, she developed at Millwall enough to go and be selected for England trials. Kerry Davis was already with England, as we have seen, but Hope and Brenda Sempare were to debut in the same match in 2

 Hope Powell and Marvin Close Hope: My Life in Football (London: Bloomsbury, 2016) p. 5.

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1983, a little behind Kerry, and both from London. The established cliques, notably led by a critical Liz Deighan, questioned their selection aged, in Hope’s case, at just sixteen. The irony of this is that Deighan was not very tall, or physically imposing herself. Martin Reagan was sure of her qualities though, calling her a ‘Rolls Royce of a player’, in spite of Powell being at school and other players in the squad having jobs and driving cars.3 Sempare and Powell were helped by established Liverpool defender, Angela Gallimore, who was warm and welcoming, defiant of her less tolerant team mates.4 Struck at the end of the 1984 Euro campaign by the quality of the Swedish squad, Powell was shocked to find that they had hosted a weekend residential for aspiring 11-yearolds, when the WFA at the time had no youth policy, and hardly a senior policy. But by 1997 and 1998 two new youth squads had been established, and the idea of Centres of Excellence was being more broadly accepted. It is worth reflecting that, at this time, the England team was perhaps the most diverse it had ever been in terms of four key squad players being from Black British or dual heritage, often from Caribbean backgrounds. In addition to Kerry Davis, Hope Powell who became England vice-captain, and Brenda Sempare, Samantha, ‘Sammy’ Britton, enjoyed a stellar England career. It is worth considering her career for a while here, before moving on, because Powell and Sempare could benefit from London council estate football and proximity to local clubs like Millwall and Croyden that were easily reached on public transport. Midlander Kerry Davis, as we have seen, had to rely on lifts, and then to drive herself to get access to the highest teams possible. For Samantha Britton, the most northerly of the ‘four degrees’ as they were jokingly known, things were even more difficult. I interviewed Sammy in January 2020. She told me: Born in 1973 in Huddersfield, I grew up with my Mum and sister, also having eight half-brothers and sisters. My father was Jamaican, one of the Windrush generation, who came to Britain, leaving family and friends behind. My mum is white British, and I am very proud of my dual Jamaican and British heritage. I don’t know where sports came from as none of my family played, or were much interested in football. We were not a sporty family or a football family. I just knew I was an outdoorsy person, and I wanted to be good at everything, I played many sports, not only football. Refusing to wear a skirt from about the age of eight, my Mum encouraged my football and came to watch me play, without necessarily following football as a sport generally. I remember playing football at about eight to ten years of age, on the school team, up to Year Seven. But when I went to senior school, there was no organised football available. So I had to be content with joining in boys’ PE, and this consisted of rugby, football, and four-mile long-distance runs. However, I found that the girls were only expected to do two miles, and didn’t fancy the longer distance 3 4

 Etoe and Sollohub Three Lions pp. 10–11.  Powell and Close Hope pp. 22–23.

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set for boys so began to do PE with the girls to save my legs. Aged about 14, I went, as the only girl, to a school’s football tournament in Malta. This was important as I really missed organised football. I still don’t know today if the school ever told the organisers they had a girl player or if they just brought me along without commenting, hoping I looked enough like a boy. One of the opposition players, pointed at my chest, and said, ‘That’s a girl.’ But I played anyway. In terms of organised football, aged 15, I was reluctant to join a girls’ team outside school, and was repeatedly asked to join by Barry Daly, a local coach. Having been brought up until the age of 14 playing what I called ‘Docker Soccer’ with boys, I was used to a hard physical game, of tackles, shouldering off the ball, and not necessarily playing the ball, rather than the opposition player. Eventually, hounded in a friendly fashion to join Barry’s team I relented on the view that girls can’t play football, and then enjoyed my time at Huddersfield Town. Soon after, Barry told me, ‘You will play for England.’ I replied I did not know this was possible, as I hadn’t heard of the England women’s national team. Club football was pretty much a means of keeping fit. I played for Huddersfield Town, Bronte, Arsenal Ladies, Cove Rangers in Scotland, Croydon, Doncaster, Everton Ladies, IBV in Iceland (finishing as top scorer with 12 goals), Leeds United, and Everton. Versatile, I could play in defence, attack, or midfield. Football suited my competitive nature, and, I was soon called up to the England Under-21 squad for a tournament in Bulgaria. At training, Liz Deighan advised me to calm down on my usual physical approach saying, ‘You don’t need to break Gill Coultard’s leg, it’s only training. We have a game in two days we need to have a squad left. You may enjoy slide tackling but use it wisely, not all the time, and win the ball.’ On the trip to Fano, Denmark, in June 1991, some of the fringe players were debuted for England, managed by Barrie Williams, these included me, Samantha Hayward, Julie Tomlinson, Michelle Curley, and Sarah Begg who was also to score her first goal for the national team in a 3-3 draw, along with Marieanne Spacey and Kaz Walker. Later, I played for the national side at the Women’s World Cup in Sweden in 1995, a first for an England women’s team. I do not describe myself as a fan of football, to watch, when not playing. It was fairly low key, in terms of my list of priorities, and when working at a school with pupils with behavioural, educational, and social needs, the pupils would not know why I went off once a month to train and prepare with the England squad. While the staff were obviously aware of why I was off-site, this was not a daily topic of conversation. I worked at the school for 10 years. Obviously in today’s social media age this would not be possible now.

As part of our interview, I asked how it felt to be so young when joining the England set-up in the early 1990s into a squad which already had the likes of Kerry Davis, Hope Powell, and Brenda Sempare as senior players. Not least, joining them as England representatives at the first Women’s World Cup that the national team had qualified for? Sammy tells me: ‘I’ve always been comfortable in my own skin, having said that it was a great to get the squad training, and see Kerry, Hope, and Brenda.’ Sammy also described wearing Dreadlocks, as a way of identifying pride in her dual heritage and also as a practical way of managing what she perceived as unruly hair.

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Sammy carried on: ‘I am very proud of my dual heritage and my Jamaican links although I didn’t visit Jamaica until 2014, I went to look for my oldest brother, my only sibling there, and I found him, an aunt, uncle and an extended large family, I have returned twice since 2014 staying for almost a year on my last trip. I adore the place and the people! It is a place I will always visit. And maybe one day live.’ Sammy decided that she would like to move on and pursue other interests, retiring from international football. However, we both wondered why more of this generation of players, were not given more opportunities to take coaching badges, retrain, and remain within the England set-up. Sammy tells me: ‘I am pleased to see how the game has developed, especially to think that no little girl will be stopped playing the game aged eleven. And also dream of being a professional, maybe even a famous player, in the world cup in front of huge crowds, having female idols to look up to and aspire to play like. It’s certainly going in the right direction.’ So, we can see that as a senior player Powell helped younger dual-heritage debutants to develop their place in the England squad, but also that her geographic access to senior clubs like Millwall was unlike other players across the country. This feeds into later debates about whether Regional Training Centres have been placed in the right locations to diversify England’s women’s national team or have made it more difficult in the twenty-first century to access England player pathways if an individual girl does not have access to private transport and supportive parents. But the staunchly amateur nature of the England national team remained, as ownership passed from the WFA to the FA in 1993. This meant club football was vital, but could be fragile. If we return to Hope Powell’s career, by 1987, seeking to improve her club football, she moved to Friends of Fulham, for two years, before returning to Millwall until 1991, before a fall-out led to several players moving to Arsenal, and a new club Bromley Borough being established.5 This eventually led to a merger with Croydon FC, with England international, Debbie Bampton as manager, and this was so successful that six Croydon players represented England at the Women’s World Cup in Sweden in 1995. Between 1994 and 1998, Powell played for Croydon which did very well in domestic club football. At the time of the 1995 Women’s World Cup, Powell had started to work as a coach in the community, on an hourly paid role. As we have seen, Samantha Britton was a teaching assistant. Donna Smith was a fire-fighter, Gill Coultard worked in a factory, Debbie Bampton was a chauffeur, and Marieanne Spacey was a fitness instructor in a leisure centre where her boss would not let her have time off to play for England (in a world cup), so her supportive colleagues covered her shifts. Probably, the England squad also struggled with Ted 5  Women’s Football Association Address List 1992/3 Crewe: John Rigby Printers, 1992 p. 11, author’s collection.

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Copeland’s squad rotation system in Sweden which mainly left Hope Powell on the bench, with relatively short stints to change play. What did change, and every player I have interviewed tells a very similar story, was that Umbro by now gave the players so much kit in the approach to the Women’s World Cup that they didn’t quite know what to do with it, fearful that they would have to return it afterwards, as they always had their WFA kits. Many admitted to showing it off on the washing line to neighbours, who had never been that close to an authentic England kit before, even as replicas were becoming more commonplace, and others gave items away to friends and family. Having worked with Alan May, and the part-time England manager Ted Copeland, and others like Debbie Bampton, Hope Powell initially took her coaching badges, partly to subsidise her playing career, and in part to further her interest in football. Having worked her way up to B Licence, and doing coaching in the community, along with stints in the USA, Powell received an invitation in June 1998, from technical department head, Robin Russell, and Kelly Simmons of the FA to offer her the England Women’s national team role, full time, a first on several levels. As Hope wrote in her autobiography, she was just thirty-one years of age when asked to become manager, so her age was one factor, and in addition ‘in one fell swoop England got its first black manager, its first woman manager, and its first gay manager’.6 Bearing in mind that the FA had been formed in 1863, and Hope Powell was appointed in 1998, it is possible to see what a change in the approach of the organisation this was. And no wonder, given the way that the FA had behaved until 1998 that she took her time in accepting such a large change. As the autobiography summarises Hope’s feelings, ‘I was that little West Indian kid from Juniper Hill Flats council Estate in Peckham…England manager, working for the oldest FA in the world. Then it dawned on me. This, I realized is what you call progress…it was a statement-to all people who came from backgrounds like me. That’s why there was such an added reason for me to succeed in that job.’7 Although many of the friendlies that Powell pushed to play were effectively behind closed doors, and the media were not particularly interested anyway, there were world-class youngsters coming into the squad, such as Rachel Brown (Pittsburgh Panthers), Danielle Murphy (Florida Gators), and Kelly Smith (Philadelphia Charge), who played abroad. Much of the rest of the England squad at the time came from Doncaster Belles and Arsenal. Eventually, youth teams were developed, with Mo Marley in charge of the Under-19s. In 2001, Loughborough University established the National Player Development Centre, offered scholarships for up to twenty women to study and play, and these player pathways are open still today to those playing at a high level. 6 7

 Powell and Close Hope pp. 68–69.  Powell and Close Hope p. 70.

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However, it would take until 2005 for a full-time psychologist, strength and conditioning coaches, and nutritional advice to be developed for the senior national team. Most preparations for high-level games, let alone tournaments, were still at Lilleshall, at the time that Alex Scott, Casey Stoney, Josanne Potter, and Anita Asante were becoming England mainstays. Another thing that Powell changed in the early noughties was to have the first Black British captain for an England women’s side, when Mary Phillip took the armband for the first time. Mary is also of Irish descent. Few people know her story, so here is a third-person version of an interview I conducted with her in October 2020 funded by Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE).8

Mary Phillip Mary Phillip was born into a tight-knit family of two older brothers, an older sister, and one younger sister. Mary would play out on the Willowbrook Estate or at Burgess Park in Peckham. She played football, cricket, or whatever other game was going on with friends and family. Mary’s Dad is part of the Windrush generation who came to England from St Lucia in 1962, and her mother hailed from Kerry in Southern Ireland. Always athletic, Mary remembered an occasion in primary school where the girls were being prevented from playing football in the playground and a lunchtime supervisor came over and took the ball from the boys, giving it to the girls so they could play. The boys never again excluded the girls from that day forward. Mary also recalled being asked by a teacher in an English lesson in secondary school if she was Black or white. She did not dignify that with an answer, her complexion speaking for itself. Mary told me: ‘I grew up in a family where we accepted each other and our difference, not to judge by color, creed, or gender.’ In terms of organised sport, it was a choice between following her love of football or to pursue karate seriously at Wandsworth Youth Club. Both competitions for football and karate took place on a Sunday, so she couldn’t do both. At Patmore Youth Club, a youth worker, named Audrey, had formed a women’s football team, with a local, Ozzie, as manager. Little did they know they had sparked the interest of a future England captain sufficiently that Mary gave up karate. Wanting to improve her game, Mary moved to Millwall Lionesses, after winning the Anniversary cup with Lambeth Women’s FC (based at Patmore Youth Club) v Arsenal women’s third team. At Millwall, Mary learned an awful lot about top-flight football. This included how to be a gracious winner and more so the importance being able to lose. Other lessons included, how to bounce back, build team cohesion, build a desire to learn and grow. Having joined Millwall in the beginning as a centre-forward, or midfielder, it wasn’t until 8

 Mary Phillip Oral History interview October 2020.

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Mary was somewhat randomly played as centre-back that she found her position. Unusually for women’s football at the time, she had the combination of pace, vision, and understanding of the game to read opponents, and to marshal the defence. Her first England call-up came at the same time as Millwall team mate, Tina Lindsey, and her next call-up was into the 1995 world cup squad in Sweden. This could not have been more exciting, as England had qualified for the Women’s World Cup for the first time in 1995. As part of the squad, led by Ted Copeland, Mary learned a lot from the experienced England players around her. However, she did not get to play in Sweden. After the birth of her first child in 1995, Mary was dedicated about regaining her fitness, and was rewarded with her England debut, playing at number four, in April 1996, a 2-0 win against Croatia with goals from Kelly Smith and Vicky Exley. Several more internationals followed including losing 2-0 against Italy in Turin in April 1997, a 5-0 loss to the USA in San Jose California in May 1997, and a 4-0 win against Scotland in August 1997. As Copeland came to the end of his tenure, a group of players at Millwall seemed to fall out of favour in the England set-up. Along with Pru Buckley, Louise Waller, and Julie Fletcher, Mary was dropped, although on good form for her club. In 2000, Mary joined Fulham FC on a professional contract under the Fayed ownership, as we have detailed in previous chapters, and this soon revived her England career. When Hope Powell took over as England coach in 1998, Mary was recalled as a substitute on 24 February 2002 in a game against Portugal, after her two sons were born. In March 2002, she also started in the Algarve Cup match for England against Norway at number six, when Angela Banks captained England for the first time and Una Nwajei made her debut as a number 9. Her caps increased quickly reaching over fifty appearances in an era when the striker Kaz Walker often captained her country. Although by now Faye White had been asked to deputise for Walker as captain, due to injury, on the 22 September 2002, White was asked to begin the game as captain versus Iceland in a 1-0 win, scored by Amanda Barr. But the captaincy soon reverted to Walker for the remainder of the year and into May 2003, when England suffered a 6-0 defeat at Soldiers Field to the USA. White was not on this tour. It is often said that Faye White is England’s longest serving captain therefore. But this simple truth hides the more complex nuance that she was often injured, and out for long periods of time. On 19 May 2003, Mary Phillip was therefore asked to captain her country, in a 4-0 loss against Canada in Montreal, and again on 22 May, also a 4-0 loss in Ottawa. Back at Burnley, on 3 September 2003, Phillip oversaw a 1-0 win against Australia in which Rachel Yankey scored the only goal after twenty-one seconds. On 11 November, against Germany in Darmstadt, England, led by Phillip suffered a 4-0 defeat, before Faye White took the armband back for a 2-2 draw against the USSR in Moscow. After this first run of captaincy in 2003,

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there were regular occasions when Mary would take the armband, including on her fiftieth cap, 30 September 2006, where England drew 1-1 against France, and secured passage to the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China, making Mary the first England women’s player to reach two World Cups, as few of her team mates from 1995 were still playing. Kelly Smith captained England to the Women’s World Cup in 2007, in which the team advanced to the knockout stages, coming second in their group to Germany, before 3-0 defeat to the USA. There would be no Olympic football for England at the Beijing Games in 2008 because of the team GB issues we have referred to earlier. Mary decided to retire from football internationally in the 2007–08 season, with her last appearance in March 2008, a 0-0 draw against the Czech Republic. We think she captained her side from kick-off at least nineteen times, and probably more with substitutions. In concluding this case study of Hope Powell, it is worth saying what a change she has overseen at the FA and now beyond to her work with FIFA. In 2002, Powell became the first woman to be awarded the UEFA Pro Licence, by then she had been awarded her OBE and would receive the CBE in 2010. There is no doubt that during her tenure, the England women’s national team became more diverse. Mary Phillip did not make her debut under Powell, but became captain and half centurion, acting as an important coach later in the community. Rachel Yankey, Una Nwajei, Carmaine Walker, Anita Asante, Enioka Aluko, Alex Scott, Lianne Sanderson, and Jess Clarke are some of the diverse names that had important England careers during Powell’s tenure, often becoming half or full centurions in an era of growing professionalism. Many domestic fans were also drawn to women’s football by being able to obtain relatively reasonably priced tickets to large stadiums when Powell led Team GB to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with a 1-0 win against New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, a 3-0 win against Cameroon at the same venue, and a 1-0 win against Brazil at Wembley in front of 70,000 people. Losing the quarter-­final stages to Canada, the media attention for the GB team helped women’s football as a whole immeasurably. Leading England to subsequent World Cups, and managing Team GB at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Powell also oversaw the huge domestic changes that led to the establishment of the Women’s Super League in 2010–11, and its subsequent expansion. This included central contracts for England women players, and more professional opportunities for more women, as well as being part of FIFA technical teams. So her influence has been considerable in both domestic and international football. Powell left the England job in 2013 and has recently stood down as manager at Brighton and Hove Albion to become Women’s Technical Director at Birmingham City, having had a global impact on women’s football.

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Kelly Smith Kelly Jayne was born on 29 October 1978, in the Garston area of Watford, the eldest child of Bernard and Carol Smith, to be joined two years later by her brother, Glen. Claiming to learn to walk and juggle a ball with both feet at the same time, Kelly later regularly played football on the boys’ teams at Lea Farm Junior School. Much is made in her autobiography, of practising her skills, against walls, aiming at chalk triangles and other drills unrelated to playing actual small-sided games, in her youth.9 At the age of seven, she was asked not to play anymore for Garston Boys Club, despite being the top goal-scorer, because they struggled to get friendlies if Kelly was playing. A similar thing then happened at a local boys club called Herons. With Debbie Garvey, she moved to Pinner Park, and playing five-a-side for Watford Ladies. Her father’s friend Russ Crowson ignited a love of watching Arsenal, especially Ian Wright, but her role model was Ryan Giggs, also a left-footed winger, and at the age of thirteen or fourteen began basing her game on his, dribbling, crossing balls into the box, and, of course, scoring. Recording Match of the Day, Kelly would rehearse whatever moves Giggs had pulled off in the new Premiership games covered by the programme. Like Hope Powell, she went on to play in the five-­ a-­side at Wembley Arena that so many women in these pages argue was pivotal for wider recognition for the women’s game. Ray Clemence presented the trophies on one of the three or four times that Kelly’s team won, and Pinner Park stepped up to become an 11-a-side team that amalgamated with Wembley Park, playing for whom she combined with taking her exams. Just as the FA assumed responsibility for women’s football in 1993, and was renamed the national league the FA Women’s Premier League in 1994, Kelly wondering what her career choices were. Women’s football was staunchly amateur, so should she try the army? Studying for a BTEC National Diploma in Sports Science at West Herts College in Watford, Smith was spotted by a US coach and, aged eighteen, she went to Seton Hall, New Jersey, in 1997, after moving to Arsenal Ladies during 1996–1997, scoring two goals and assisting on the third in a 3-0 win over Liverpool which secured the Premier League title that season. The final game of the season was played at Highbury, another highlight. Smith had already made her debut for England on 1 November 1995, three days after turning seventeen. The 1-1 draw against Italy was played at Roker Park and Smith won Player of the Match from her position on the left wing, although the scorer for Italy, Carolina Morace was notably in imperious form. The autobiography covers in some detail Smith’s growing alcohol addiction during her first year at university, fuelled by homesickness, loneliness, and a lack of confidence in what she was doing when not playing football.10 Under coach Betty Ann Kempf, Seton Hall Pirates increased their visibility and Smith 9

 Kelly Smith with Lance Hardy Footballer: my story (London: Corgi Books, 2013) pp. 14–15.  Smith Footballer pp. 52–53.

10

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was a large part of that winning awards in her first and third years, and scoring six hat-tricks. Although scoring in a number six shirt was celebrated by the university to the extent of retiring the number, Smith left the awards dinner, unable to give an acceptance speech in public. When Kelly Smith graduated from Seton Hall, her number six jersey was retired in respect, and although she had now qualified as a physical education teacher, the victory of the US national team in 1999 saw the establishment of a professional women’s league in the USA, the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). The draft limited foreign players, but Philadelphia Charge coach Mark Krikorian chose Smith, even though England had not qualified for the 1999 Women’s World Cup because her quality was known in America. The league was a $100 million set-up at that time, and Smith scored, and won a penalty in her first match for Philadelphia, also winning the Most Valuable Player in the first week of the league. When the 2003 Women’s World Cup returned in 2003, again without England, Smith was asked to do her first BBC presentations to camera, and this started a career that she has carried on since retiring from playing. After WUSA folded in 2003, Smith joined New Jersey Wildcats, on more of a semi-professional level. A fourth serious injury, and this time a possible career ending broken leg, ended this part of her career in the USA. Deciding to come home aged twenty-five, it cost £2500 to get her beloved Boxer Bailey through quarantine. In Christmas 2004, Smith rejoined Arsenal after a period of rehabilitation with The Priory and Sporting Chance, also becoming assistant academy director. By May 2005, Smith had returned to the England side, and, as we’ve seen in previous chapters, went on to captain the team, including in the run up to the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China, and scoring as captain in March 2007 when England won 6-0 against Russia in Milton Keynes. Further television appearances included appearing on Jonathan Ross, alongside Take That, and also Gladiators, A Question of Sport and a number of other shows, receiving her MBE from the Queen in 2008. In spite of reaching the finals of the Women’s Euros in 2009, and losing to Germany, and scoring one of England’s two goals, alongside Karen Carney, England were comprehensively beaten on the day 6-2. Smith went on to become a centurion player in October 2010, only exceeded by Rachel Yankey, who had played 105 matches at the time. There was a real optimism, having beaten the USA in April 2011 at Leyton Orient, for the Women’s World Cup in Germany. Winning group B, England defeated New Zealand 2-1, and Japan 2-0, drawing with Mexico 1-1 to take 7 points. Meeting France in the quarter-finals, the score at full time was 1-1 thanks to a Jill Scott goal. England then lost 4-3 on penalties, with Kelly Smith, Karen Carney, and Casey Stoney scoring, and Claire Rafferty pulling hers wide, and Faye White hitting the cross bar. There is a whole chapter in Kelly Smith’s book about Hope Powell and her support of players as individuals, and this bitter disappointment is one episode where that support was valued. However, at the 2013 Women’s Euros in Sweden, England failed to get out of their group, in spite of having been seeded, scoring a single point. In

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February 2015, Smith announced her retirement from international football. Although Mark Sampson was appointed as Powell’s successor on 6 December 2013, Smith made only occasional appearances in 2014, such as coming on as a substitute for Natasha Dowie against France in Nicosia in a 2-0 loss in March of that year. Subsequently, Kelly Smith has made numerous appearances as a pundit and commentator on a range of US and UK football tournaments, including men’s world cups. She was the most outrageously gifted player of her generation, and pioneered professional football at the highest level available to her at the time.

Conclusion When we look at Hope Powell becoming the first full-time England manager in 1998, we have to look at the wider context of women being considered coaching experts at the time through FA channels and qualifications. In 1997, the Vanessa Hardwick case showed what a male occupational space football coaching at the FA was, and how toxic that environment. As we have said, there were two women, and about 1000 men with an A licence at this time.11 Kim Moore, providing evidence, suggested that of the nine women who attended the A licence course between 1989 and 1992, only one, Sue Lopez, passed in those four years. Moore was failed twice in 1989 and 1992. Having been failed in 1995 for her A licence course the year before, physical education teacher Vanessa Hardwick took the FA to an industrial tribunal, which ruled unanimously that she had been the subject of sexual discrimination, and awarded her £5000 in damages for injury to feelings, and ruled that compensatory loss, which was broadly to be based on loss of earnings, be assessed at a later date. Of the course which she attended, there were seventy men and two women. Led by the now technical director Robin Russell, there were four coaches, all male, Colin Murphy, John McDermott, Ted Copeland, and Mr. Peacock. Mr. Peacock did not give evidence and his papers went missing. Murphy had advised Hargreaves to delete some of her coaching factors in a phase of play, including ‘compactness’. One of the factors she was failed on by McDermott in an 11 v 11 situation was compactness. Overall, she had two passes and two fails, leading Copeland and Russell to score her as borderline, requiring a staff discussion, but none took place. McDermott and Murphy decided between themselves she had failed. Both the then Technical Director, Robin Russell, and Charles Hughes, who had been head of coaching at the FA, defended this decision. Jim Kelman, who was the County Coaching Representative for Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, wrote in support of Vanessa Harwick but was replied to dismissively by Hughes. By obtaining the scores of the 1995 and 1996 courses, Hardwick was able to show that eight male candidates who scored the same as her in the 11 v 11, 11  The Industrial Tribunal between Ms. V Hardwick and the Football Association 22 October 1997 Case number 2200651/96 pp. 3–5, author’s collection.

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and the same or worse than her in the previous assessments had been passed. A case was made by the FA retrospectively that the criterion and their application in the May/June course was different than in July/August courses which accounted for the disparity, but the tribunal was soon able to demolish this argument by showing that candidates who were passed would still have failed due to the logic presented.12 Hardwick was also placed as the penultimate candidate to be assessed, when it was well known that the most able candidates were assessed first, implying that she was weak. In point of fact, Hardwick’s legal team were able to show that in 1995, eight men with worse grades than she, and in 1996, thirteen men with worse grades than she passed the course, and no women passed the course, at all. When the FA appealed the case, the tribunal in 1999, in addition to awarding £16,000 damages and compensation, ruled that she should be presented with her licence within 28 days or pay a further £10,000 which, spitefully the FA chose to do instead. So Hardwick was forced to go abroad to coach. The tribunal also suggested that all coaching tutors be given training on equal opportunities within six months. I did my own coaching badges in 1998 and 1999 on courses led by Jim Kelman, and was failed twice on my B licence before passing. Since when passing the UEFA B part two, candidates have to be referred to the A licence, there are clearly barriers in place, and not all of them financial. Former England player Sammy Lee, and ex-West Ham player Paul Allen, who both obtained worse grades than Hardwick went on to pass the A licence, and have sustained very lucrative careers, earning well more than £10,000 per annum. Having failed such a high-profile candidate, in a case that ran for over three years, and appointing Hope Powell as a national team manager with only a B licence, sent out very mixed messages. The whole male culture of the coach workforce assessment would have many long-term effects, but obviously, we must be mindful of intersectional politics. Race, ethnicity, class, and geography could also affect life chances. This also impacted on the life chances of Mary Phillip. Having been the first woman onto the YTS programme at Millwall in 1993, Mary had obtained her B Licence coaching badges, UEFA part one and part two. She then decided to dedicate more of her time to coaching, initially in a voluntary capacity, having worked her way through her badges. On retiring from playing in 2008, Mary looked into doing her A Licence but the financial cost, at £7000, was too high. Mary was coaching voluntarily at Peckham Town FC, at step seven grassroots

12  The Industrial Tribunal between Ms. V Hardwick and the Football Association 22 October 1997 Case number 2200651/96 p. 21, author’s collection. Breakdown of C grades awarded to all candidates 27 May to 9 June 1995, no females on course.

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level, so this was suitable for A licence work, but this obviously did not provide the financial support to take her A licence forward. It was not until 2016, when the PFA held a women-only course for international players, led by Jim Hicks that there was some kind of financial support. With the likes of Lou Newsted, and Casey Stoney, Mary took this opportunity because the A licence is so expensive. Having coached at Peckham Town FC for several years, and helping grow its youth segment, Mary started to help coach the senior players in 2014, and took over the senior team in 2015. In 2016, when she started her A Licence, she began to help coach the First team becoming the manager in 2019–20. They went on to win the senior London Cup for the first time in the club’s history in her first season in charge. As we have seen with Mary’s career she continues to be inspirational, and this would not be the first pioneering action of her career in football. In February 2017 Mary felt ill, a week after being hospitalised. Shortly after her fortieth birthday, she was diagnosed with MS. She told me, ‘That blew me for six! It took me a couple of months to recover from my relapse. I started to refocus and evaluate life, and, although this slowed me down slightly in completing the A Licence, I now have the qualification.’ Mary is proud of her London cup victory with Peckham, and giving back to the local community that she values so much. Her players have said what an honour it is to be coached by an England captain with over 50 caps to her name. She has now also been more integrated into the England senior set-up, although she has to balance this with managing her condition. We are perhaps reminded by the example though how recent the changes have been since the Hardwick case.13

13  David Smith ‘The Woman Who Proved the FA Were Incompetent Sexists’ Standard Sport 10 December 1997 p. 65.

CHAPTER 5

From Mark Sampson to Sarina

Introduction Eni Aluko, ‘Un-Lioness Behaviour’, Race, Ethnicity, and the Sampson Era 2013–2017 In our 2020 interview, Eniola Aluko, was very clear that she wanted to make history and leave a legacy, so that those inspired by her in the future would ask, what did she stand for?1 Aluko has never just played football. The first woman of British-African heritage to don 100 caps for England, Eni typifies the career mobility of the newly professional women footballers, having played in the USA and Spain as well as the UK. Unlike Kelly Smith and the players who went to the USA to study on football scholarships, Aluko joined a professional US club after graduating from university in the UK, and her post-England career has combined sporting director roles, media and presenting work, with journalism as a Guardian columnist, and a master’s degree. After executive leadership at Aston Villa FC, she has moved to Angel City FC in the USA to develop her career. Aluko was appointed UN Women UK ambassador with a focus on promoting gender empowerment in 2016, and in October 2018, she was named by Marie Claire as one of 10 Future Shapers Award Winners, recognising individuals who are changing women’s futures for the better. Although it is often considered something of a contradiction that young sports people should write their autobiography quite so early, Enola Aluko wrote her memoir They Don’t Teach This, explicitly to inspire readers to be the best version of themselves. There are plenty of reasons that 2019 was not too soon for the publication of this book.2  Oral History interview Eniola Aluko 8 October 2020.  Eniola Aluko with Josie Le Blond They Don’t Teach This: Lessons from the Game of Life (London: Vintage, 2019) p. 25. 1 2

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 J. Williams, Legendary Lionesses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36760-1_5

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Eniola Aluko, was born in 1987 in Lagos Nigeria, and moved to Birmingham at the age of 6 months, with her parents, Sileola and Daniel. Aluko’s British-­ Nigerian identity, and British-African dual heritage, is a key theme of her memoir. While Daniel returned to Nigeria to pursue a career in politics, Sileola worked as a nurse and then for a pharmaceutical company. From an upper-­ middle-­class background, the move nevertheless placed the family on an inner city estate, and Aluko has been vocal about the place of her family values, and the importance of her faith in overcoming the challenges that she has faced. She grew up playing football and other sports with her brother, Sone Aluko, who also went on to a professional career in football. Sone went on to play for England youth teams before opting to play for Nigeria as an international. Aluko started her career at Leafield Athletic Ladies, as many women’s football teams still call themselves, and subsequently played for Birmingham City Ladies, with future England team mate, Karen Carney. A strong forward player, Aluko scored on her Birmingham team debut, aged fourteen. She played for the senior team from 2001 to 2004, and by 2003, Aluko was named Young Player of the Year at the FA Women’s Football Awards. She moved to play club football at Charlton Athletic from 2004 to 2007, and Chelsea 2007–09. Eni also obtained a first-class law degree at Brunel University. Aluko therefore joined women’s football in England at a time when new forms of semi-professional, and professional careers were now possible, with the Women’s FA Premier League, the top flight available to women from 1991 to 2011 when the FA Women’s Super League was launched. Over in the USA, several British players had obtained athletic scholarships, like Kelly Smith. This could lead to lucrative and prestigious coaching and professional contracts when professional women’s leagues were launched, following the success of the 1999 Women’s World Cup in Los Angeles, where 93,000 spectators watched the final in the Rose Bowl, proving a market for women’s football. The Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) was one of these iterations of professional leagues, established in 2009. So Aluko moved to the USA as a professional player for St. Louis Athletica in late 2008, in the WPS, but soon team finances and league structures were shown to be precarious. Although Eni was their top scorer in 2009, the team ran into financial difficulty in 2010, and Aluko signed for Atlanta Beat, but was then traded to Sky Blue FC and at the end of the 2011 season returned first to Birmingham City, and then Chelsea in 2012. In 2018, she joined Juventus, where she ended her career as their top scorer, and retired early in 2020. Having chosen to play for England, working her way through the talent identification system, and youth squads, Aluko’s senior debut came with England in 2004. She would go on to win 102 caps in her England career, mainly under long-time coach Hope Powell. Aluko also became an Olympian, in the Team GB squad for the 2012 Olympic Games, the first major FIFA women’s tournament in the UK, and the first time a team representing Great Britain took part in the women’s tournament. Team GB finished fifth in the twelve-team tournament, won by the USA.

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However, after the Olympic Games, and the disastrous 2013 Women’s Euro campaign, Powell’s fifteen-year term of management came to an end. So when Aluko became the first British-African woman to win a hundredth cap for England it was under new manager, Mark Sampson, an inexperienced coach with no international playing expertise or top management qualifications, who was employed by the FA in 2014.3 Sampson was thirty-one years of age, and Aluko was twenty-eight, and now a senior England player. Although she achieved her hundredth cap, it was under muted circumstances, as Aluko was substituted in the second half and hastily handed the armband to mark a brief captaincy. Two matches later, she was dropped from the England squad for ‘Un-Lioness Behaviour’, although no one really understood what that phrase meant. The irony of the situation was that Aluko had been playing well for the new coach, Mark Sampson who had been somewhat controversially appointed on 6 December 2013, after Hope Powell’s departure. Sampson had no professional playing expertise, no international playing expertise, and was something of an outlier in terms of who would succeed Powell. The interim manager Brent Hills, who had worked with Powell for a long time was expected to get the position, as he had a long-time experience in women’s football. Hills had started a female football academy in 1998 at Southwark College and, in February 2002, was appointed the first full-time assistant coach to Powell. When England reintroduced an Under-21 team in 2004, Powell put Hills in charge of it. He first took the senior team to Aalen for a 5-1 friendly defeat to Germany in October 2006, when Powell was recovering from a hip operation, and as interim manager led the team to three wins in 2013 after she was sacked, including a 6-0 victory against Belarus, an 8-0 win against Turkey, and a 2-0 triumph against Wales. Eni Aluko scored three goals in the first two of these fixtures. Hills was instead offered head of elite development, and Marieanne Spacey became assistant to Mark Sampson, developing the Under-23 national team and coach development. So, who was the relative underknown in women’s football Mark Sampson? After completing a BA in sports development at the University of Wales Institute, Sampson was employed by the Football Association of Wales Trust in 2003 as a coach co-ordinator, going on to become a coach, initially teaching youth players at Cardiff City. In 2007, Sampson became head of Swansea City’s centre of excellence whilst the club was under the management of Roberto Martínez, until 2009. At the same time, he was manager of Welsh Football League club Taff’s Well in November 2008, having previously been youth team coach at the club. By 2009, he was appointed manager of Bristol Academy in the FA Women’s Premier League. Bristol Academy finished 2013 runners up in the FA WSL, the club’s best-ever finish, and had earlier reached two FA Women’s Cup finals in 2010–2011 and 2012–2013. 3  Mark Sampson Appointed New England women boss by FA https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/ football/25253832 6 December 2013.

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After being appointed England manager, Sampson’s first silverware was the Cyprus Cup in March 2015. His relationship with Aluko began well, as she scored the opener within 10 minutes in his first game against Norway, a 1-1 draw in Cartagena. At the 2014 Cyprus Cup, Aluko scored the third goal in a 3-0 win over Finland in Larnaca, although France later took the cup. Further goals followed, one in a 9-0 win over Montenegro, and two in a 4-0 win against Ukraine, another in the 3-0 win against Belarus in Minsk, and 2-1 success against Ukraine in Lviv. Aluko was back on form in August, scoring against Wales in a 4-0 win, and secured a hat-trick in a 10-0 mauling of Montenegro in Petrovac. Although the final game of 2014 was a 3-0 loss to Germany at Wembley, it was the only match of 2014 in which Aluko did not score except the 4-0 win against Sweden the previous August. She therefore had a run of eleven goals in twelve games. As the FA noted on her hat-trick: ‘Aluko is arguably the Three Lions’ most in-form player as she has scored 17 times in her last 23 internationals – she had only netted 10 goals in the previous 62.’4 Aluko featured strongly again in the 2015 Cyprus Cup scoring against Finland for a 3-1 victory, and equalising against the Netherlands in her nineteenth strike in twenty-seven internationals. Jodie Taylor’s hat-trick and Lianne Sanderson’s goal against Canada helped win the title. Although she started a few of the Women’s World Cup games in 2015, increasingly, Aluko was a substitute, either offered a few minutes of playing time or left on the bench. In the third place playoff game against Germany in Edmonton, she was brought on in the sixty-first minute. Fara Williams scored from the spot to beat Germany for the first time in twenty-one matches. Although she scored again vs. China in October 2015, in a 2-1 loss, Aluko was becoming a peripheral player, often substituted or not in the squad. What had changed? Although the exact details of this are in the media, and do not need to be repeated here, Sampson had the problem. In 2016, Aluko filed a complaint to the FA which detailed bullying and racial discrimination, as well as a broader culture of harassment in Sampson’s approach to coaching the England team.5 Mark Sampson was later sacked in 2017, not for these allegations, but for safeguarding issues in his previous role at Bristol.6 When Aluko was dropped and the allegations about her were being made in the media, Nikita Parris, a young Black British England player ran to support Sampson when she scored a goal in a 6-0 defeat of Russia in September 2017. 4   The Football Association ‘England Women’ https://www.thefa.com/news/2014/ sep/17/world-cup-qualifier-montenegro-petrovac-eniola-aluko-hat-trick-13-goals accessed 8 December 2021. 5  Daniel Taylor ‘Eni Aluko accuses England manager Mark Sampson of “racist” Ebola remark’ The Guardian 21 August 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/aug/21/eni-­ aluko-­england-manager-mark-sampson-ebola accessed 8 March 2023. 6  Jack Pitt-Brooke ‘Mark Sampson sacked as England manager by FA after past unprofessional relationship with players’ The Independent 20 September 2017 https://www.independent.co.uk/ sport/football/international/mark-sampson-sacked-england-manager-fa-unprofessional-­ relationship-­players-scandal-a7958036.html accessed 10 March 2023.

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It was to be his last game in charge. The rest of the England squad followed. In the middle of the Black Lives Matter debate in July 2020, Parris would apologise to Aluko, and this has been accepted. Sampson also apologised to Aluko in January 2019, the same month that he received ‘substantial’ payment from the FA in lieu of his case for unfair dismissal being heard. His case did not go ahead. Between 2016 and 2017, two internal FA inquiries had found no wrongdoing in Sampson’s case. However, the second led to an FA payout for £80,000 to Aluko for loss of earnings as a centrally contracted England player. It was alleged at a hearing of the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), that the FA had withheld aspects of this payment subject to a comment from Aluko, which she declined, calling it blackmail. This showed the flaws in Sampson’s management, ending the career of both Lianne Sanderson, who had fifty caps until that point, Drew Spence, and Aluko on 102 caps. The calm, clear, and professional manner in which Aluko conducted herself at the DCMS hearing was in marked contrast to the flustered responses of the FA executives and was later given an apology by Martin Glenn.7 Aluko has written about forgiveness as a positive decision in her 2019 autobiography, They Don’t Teach This, and remains gracious, if forensic, in her account of the situation. There is though, the wider problem of the lack of diversity in the FA as an institution, and in British football generally, at leadership level. So, in the memoir, Aluko is very concerned not to be defined by this incident, asking us to focus on her many achievements, not on a situation which was not of her creation. In our interview, I asked Aluko the individual to whom she most looked to in her aspirations for her career, and her answer was surprising: Oprah Winfrey. So, with her move now to sports executive, and media personality there is every chance she will transcend the incident that ended her England career and continue to excel in the many fields which she wishes to explore.

Phil Neville 2018 Phil Neville, the Manchester United player, who subsequently became a coach was appointed as England women’s manager in January 2018, again to some controversy as his historical social media comments about women surfaced on his appointment. Although Demi Stokes and Nikita Parris would play on for England, Anita Asante, who supported Aluko would play her last game in March 2018 in a 4-1 win over France in Ohio. It was Neville’s first game in the She Believes Cup. What changes had Asante seen across her career, I asked in our October 2020 interview. 7  Martha Kelner ‘Eni Aluko accuses FA of actions “bordering on blackmail” as Glenn and co grilled—as it happened’ The Guardian 18 October 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2017/oct/18/fa-chiefs-face-parliamentary-inquiry-over-mark-sampson-investigations-­ live accessed 12 March 2023.

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Anita’s parents were both born in Ghana, and came over to London, working as a general nurse and a security guard.8 Anita is the eldest of three siblings, as she has a brother and a sister. Football began as one of many activities she played while on the local estate, with everyone congregating, and lots of working-­ class families sharing communal green spaces. Street football was played in a number of spots, including The Cage, which was a multi-sport ball court, and other pick-up community games. This meant meeting with many kinds of kids, both boys and girls, usually organising games through word of mouth. For instance, Anita lived next door to a secondary school, which she did not attend, and there was to be a football tournament, and so she went along. Anita told me: ‘Football allowed me to stay out of trouble, there were a number of other distractions on the estate. Playing football against boys taught me how to earn the respect of other players, gave me a sense of ownership of the game, and to enter their space because I was good enough. I always gravitated to sport, especially football, especially at Primary school until the age of eleven. My family was not sporty, although my Dad was a football fan but I always enjoyed it, gravitated towards it, and was passionate about it.’ In terms of professional club football, after a brief move to Chelsea, in 2009 Asante signed professional terms for WPS franchise, Sky Blue FC in New Jersey, where she helped the club win the inaugural championship. Only five foreign nationals were eligible for each team so competition for places was intense. On 6 May 2010, Asante was traded to the Saint Louis Athletica, but when the team folded shortly after on 27 May 2010, she was acquired by the Chicago Red Stars, before being subsequently traded to the Washington Freedom on 6 August 2010. Although playing professionally with the likes of Abby Wambach, Sawa, Marta, and so on was what Anita had always wanted as a professional player, the US league was a precarious way to earn a living. In December 2010, Asante returned for a second spell at Sky Blue FC, after Jim Gabarra, her coach at Washington Freedom, took over, but the WPS folded the next year. With Therese Sjögran and Jessica Landström suggesting a move to Sweden, playing first for Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, before Anita signed for national champions LdB FC Malmö who became FC Rosengård, before signing again for Chelsea, and, in 2020, for Aston Villa FC in their first season in the Women’s Super League. In our 2020 interview Anita told me: ‘For England the story was not straightforward. At secondary school, there was netball, athletics, tennis, and other competitive environments, and I had Ms. Harding, my head of PE, who really encouraged me. But I found the gendered nature of school PE to be a barrier. Arsenal Centre of Excellence U-14’s was organised at a sports centre in Hackney. At the Centre of Excellence is where I met and trained with Alex Scott, and other fellow youth internationals at the time, Sheuneen Ta and Roschelle Shakes. This gave me my first real club experience. There were lots of girls just like me playing and training, and we all helped one another out, 8

 Anita Asante oral history interview 12 October 2020.

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pooling car lifts to training, and supportive parents who helped out with the team. For more organised club football, Arsenal offered a try-out training camp. The coaches led the Arsenal training sessions and had established players like Rachel Yankey and Clare Wheatley. It was great for developing my sense of a club and ambition and how seriously they trained. Vic Akers helped my development by believing in my talent and nurturing its growth, with the training environment and playing opportunities. Pressure was being part of an already established winning team. I wanted to be part of that so I had to embrace it and perform to my best to break through to the senior team I would say. To get into England, I was first selected to an Under-17s camp, about fifteen to sixteen years of age at Loughborough for squad try-outs. The whole process was overwhelming, as I wanted to get into the England team so badly, that it gave me a kind of stage fright, a performance anxiety. Back at Arsenal, the club helped me. This taught me a lot about resilience, relying on yourself, navigating failure, and I had a lot of people who had my back as I worked through the experience. It helped, perhaps, that I am stubborn. So I went back and worked my way through the England age squads, U-17, U-19, U-21s and U-23s.’ Asante captained the U-19s in 2002, before making her senior debut in 2004. Named to the squad for the Euros in 2005, she was therefore a senior international player, when England made the finals of the Euros in 2009. This was only the second time this had been done, the first in 1984, when she had not even been born. She also played in the 2011 World Cup, and the 2012 Olympic Games, as a member of Team GB, but was controversially not included in the squad for the 2015 World Cup, in spite of being nominated for FA Player of the year in 2014. She received her fiftieth cap in 2011 and had seventy appearances for England by the time of her retirement in 2018. With both BA and Master’s degrees from Brunel, Asante had planned beyond her career in professional football. She has branched out in recent years to co-comms and punditry, is an ambassador for Amnesty, and has done some equality, diversity, and inclusion work at The Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels (FIFPro) and for the FA. Having also explored coaching, editorial work, and PhD study, there are a range of career options available when she transitions out of playing football at the highest level, announcing her retirement at club level in 2022. Meanwhile under Phil Neville, current England stars like Hannah Blundell, Beth Mead, and Leah Williamson were making their debuts. Lucy Staniforth earned her place in England’s history by scoring on her debut against Kazakhstan in September 2018, in a 6-0 win which also saw Gabrielle George and Lauren Brunton debut. In respect of her two minute strike against Brazil in October 2018, Fran Kirby was nominated for the inaugural Ballon d’Or. Later, in November, both Georgia Stanway and Chioma Ubogagu scored on their debut in a 3-0 win against Austria in Vienna, with Rachel Daly netting the third. The goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck made her debut in the same game, as did Chloe Kelly who came on as a substitute for Toni Duggan. But change was

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evolutionary, as Steph Houghton became the eleventh centurion for England women in a 2-0 loss to Sweden in Rotherham on 11 November. The first win at a She Believes Cup in 2019 saw England draw with the USA 2-2, win over Brazil 2-1, and defeat Japan 3-0 to take the title. England topped group D at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, beating Cameroon 3-0 in the round of sixteen, and Norway by the same margin in the quarter-finals. Only by defeat 2-1 to the USA in the semi-finals did England exit an otherwise strong tournament, and losing the third place playoff to Sweden in which Karen Carney made her 144th and final appearance. A less successful She Believes Cup followed, by which time Neville had announced his intention to stand down in April 2020, eventually stepping down in January 2021 to coach Inter Miami CF, a team co-owned by his former Manchester United team mate David Beckham. The first high-profile male professional player to coach the England women’s national team, Neville was able to foster the growth of an elite directorate around him at the FA from 2018, including links with age-group national teams and with Gareth Southgate, England’s men’s national team coach. Because the Olympic Games now allowed Team GB to enter a women’s team, the FA appointed Heige Riise, the Norwegian international and coach for an interim period. In April 2019, at a 3-1 loss to France, the team, led by Riise wore black armbands in respect of Prince Philip passing the day before. Controversially leaving striker Beth Mead out of the squad, Riise managed seventh place in Tokyo 2020, and was not generally a popular choice with the public or players. Mead’s autobiography details how she initially struggled to play football at school, something that the current senior women’s squad have now lobbied the government about. As someone who has a fun and lively personality, the autobiography details her challenges after beginning to play for her small Yorkshire village team aged just six, to winning the Euros as the player of the tournament, and the golden boot, in 2022.9 Not least, she dreaded the age group England training camps as a teenager, and had to be pushed by her parents to attend and develop. Even having obtained a four-year professional contract with Sunderland aged just twenty, the men’s team were relegated and she lost her contract two years into the full term, so had to relocate to Arsenal. This was personally challenging, given her closeness to her family. Mead has sought to be a role model, aged just twenty-seven, on a range of issues, including LGBTQIA issues.10

9  Beth Mead ‘It’s OK not to be OK’ The Guardian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC0ev_ ess2s accessed 12 March 2023. 10  Beth Mead ‘You can’t help who you fall in love with: Beth Mead opens up on her sexuality & football journey’ Sky Sports Football https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRtbG8iDCJA accessed 12 March 2023.

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Queen Sarina Taking over the England national women’s team in September 2021 with an 8-0 win over North Macedonia, in the Women’s World Cup qualifying, by the end of July 2022, Sarina Wiegman would have led the Lionesses to UEFA Women’s Euros victory, the first major trophy of their fifty-year history.11 In 2023 she led the England team to their first, and her second, Women’s World Cup Final. Her succession to Phil Neville had been announced the previous August, when she also made clear her determination to remain manager of the Netherlands for the Olympics 2020, a team that she had led as head coach, to win the UEFA women’s Euros in 2017 on home soil with straight wins throughout, and runners-­up at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France in 2019, losing 2-0 to the USA. The Netherlands were eliminated at quarter-final stage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as were Team GB. With assistant coach Arjan Veurink, head of performance psychology Dr. Kate Hays, general manager Anja van Ginhoven, and Martin Evans physical performance pathway lead, team doctors Ritan Mehta and Charlotte Cowie, there are a number of technical leads that form the elite coaches. These include Darren Ward, goalkeeping coach, Geraint Twose, assistant coach, and Kay Cossington who oversees the technical directorate. Born in 1969, just as the attitudes to women’s football were changing, Wiegman began her career as a midfielder before moving to defence. Cutting her hair short, she played mostly street football with boys, specifically her twin brother, before finally finding a girls’ team. Born in The Hague, she played for KFC ‘71 in 1987–1988 season winning the KNVB Cup, before moving to North Carolina Tar Heels, at the invitation of Anson Dorrance, studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Playing alongside Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Carla Overbeck, the Tar Heels became NCAA champions in 1989, and future US world cup stars honed their club football. Returning to an amateur future back in the Netherlands, she remained a physical education teacher at Segbroek College for the rest of her club and international career, later joining Ter Leede, and winning the KNVB Cup in 2001, and two league championships in 2001, and 2003. She retired to have her second daughter, after playing for the Netherlands in the European Championships in 1989, 1991, and 1993. She also captained the national team in a career spanning 100 caps. Wiegman was just 16 when she was first selected for the Netherlands national team. The 1988 FIFA Women’s Invitational Tournament included the Netherlands, and although they lost out in the group stages, Anson Dorrance was by this time both coaching the US women’s national team and at North Carolina, winning both the inaugural Women’s World Cup with the USA and the 1991 NCAA tournament the same year. Dorrance was noted for changing the face of women’s football in the US collegiate system and beyond, fostering an atmosphere of extreme competitiveness, supreme fitness, and a connected ‘family’ atmosphere: all attributes that Wiegman would later advance in her own coaching philosophy.  Sarina Wiegman oral history interview Warwick Castle FA Event December 2021.

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In 2007, after one year of coaching Ter Leede, she moved to ADO Den Haag, and just as the KNVB was investing more into women’s football, introduced newly professional methods into women’s club football such as video analysis. Club success followed in the Women’s Eredivisie. By 2014, Wiegman had become the assistant coach of the national team, also overseeing the Under-19 teams, moving to become national coach on an interim basis in 2015, before Arjan van der Laan was appointed. Wiegman also obtained her UEFA Pro Licence, the third woman from the Netherlands to do so after Vera Pauw and Hestine de Reus. She also became the first female coach of a male team in Holland, by joining Sparta Rotterdam as second team assistant coach. Credited with considerable tactical awareness, Wiegman used her wider squad to great effect at the Women’s Euros 2022, making several substitutions at key times to change the outcome of games. Of the four national associations that could have won the Euros in 2022, Germany and France also had female coaches but France’s Corinne Diacre has recently lost the support of players. Wiegman subsequently won the Best FIFA Female Coach Award; also the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards; the UEFA Women’s Coach of the Year; and a CBE in the New Year’s Honours list. Mary Earps won the goalkeeper award, making an amazing acceptance speech, encouraging girls to be ‘unapologetically’ themselves.12 Captain Leah Williamson was made an OBE for her efforts in the Euros, and Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead, and Ellen White were made MBEs. So the national honours continue, and while it would have been more respectful had the whole squad been honoured, it is also pleasing that more of the older players, such as Sheila Parker and Carol Thomas are being so honoured. It is a shame it has taken so long.

Conclusion It would be difficult to exaggerate the effect of the national governing body of football, the Football Association, has had on restricting the growth of the women’s game, and especially that for girls in its 160-year history. Even when it accepted women’s football, grudgingly and with bad grace in 1969, the FA did not substantially fund or encourage growth in football for women, let alone for girls. This changed somewhat glacially in the intervening fifty years, with the overall impression that the female interlopers knew little about the people’s game, and needed to be kept contained so they didn’t ruin it. Physical space and resource continue to be the key issues. Between 1996 and 2000, when most of the current England women’s squad were born, the FA spent just £159,000 to increase the number of playing opportunities for girls and women, nationally. As we saw with the Ellen White 12  Lousie Taylor ‘Mary Earps’ long road from Phil Neville reject to world’s best No 1’ The Observer 5 March 2023 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/05/mary-earps-­ long-road-from-phil-neville-reject-to-worlds-best-no-1 accessed 5 March 2023.

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case, the idea that this underinvestment does not, and has not affected the current senior squad is a misunderstanding of history. When they won the Euros in 2022 in a packed, and peaceful, Wembley, these young women understood that others had pioneered their opportunity. The grants to fund the 1996–2000 investment came from County FAs, and the Football Trust concluding, ‘This growth would not have been achieved if the girls had been left to organize on their very own.’13 Left to organise on their very own is exactly what the history of women’s football has been about. Between 1996 and 2000, just £44,000 was devoted to coaching development in the five-year period, while nearly £300,000 was devoted to marketing and PR. That said, the England women’s national team was allocated between £240,000 per and £280,000 per annum, a huge rise in investment compared with the women who played in 1972, and those in the 1980s and 1990s, who volunteered to play for their country, as an act of charitable donation, receiving £15 per day pocket money when overseas. Little surprise then that in a March 1998 interview with On the Ball magazine, the Technical Director at the FA Howard Wilkinson said: ‘The gates are up and our stadiums are the best in the world, however, amongst all this we have an under privileged group which is called women’s football and it is apparent that they do not have equal opportunities in terms of where they can play, facilities, equipment or structure.’14 However, in his 1997 roadmap for the technical department, A Charter for Quality, he saw women’s football as a relatively minor aspect of his overall strategy.15 At the time, it was estimated that 22,000 registered female players in England turned out for 43,000 teams of varying sizes. Globally, almost half of the 191 national associations registered with FIFA organised regular women’s competitions. So it is possible to see that it is only really in the last twenty years that real change has come within these misogynistic organisations, and rapid change only really in the last five years. But change is not the same progress, as we have said. The Women’s Football Committee, formed in 1993 within the FA, chaired by Ray Kiddell, effectively became an enclave which detached women’s and girls’ football from the main business of the organisation. Kiddell, of the Norfolk County FA had no previous record in women’s football, but was a Vice Chair of the FA, giving a certain authority to his appointment, if not expertise. The welcome that was extended to the WFA in 1969, at an arm’s length, would be mirrored by this contained reception of the business of women’s football into the FA proper, and of course, the WFA staff were seen as entirely dispensable. 13  The FA Women and Football: a Strategy Document Action Plan and Financial Forecast 1996–2000 (London: The FA, 1995) p. 3, author’s collection. 14  Howard Wilkinson ‘Interview with the FA Technical Director’ On the Ball 8 March 1998, p. 4, author’s collection. 15  Howard Wilkinson The Football Association Technical Department Football Education for Young Players: A Charter for Quality (London: The Football Association, 1997) p.  5, author’s collection.

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By the end of that cycle of development plan, the FA had decided that women’s football was to be the sporting force of the millennium. What began life as the WFA Mitre trophy was now the AXA FA Women’s Cup, sponsored by the insurance company of that name who also sponsored the national league, titled as the AXA FA Women’s Premier League. The senior England women’s side was now also sponsored by Nationwide Building Society. By now twenty-­ five Girls Centres of Excellence had been established, covering 1000 girls teams, with Sky, Radio 5 and Talk Radio signing media deals. So as the FA prepared their next development cycle, it proposed to invest £2 million into the women’s and girls’ game. With the establishment of the Women’s Super League in the 2010–2011 season, a degree of professionalisation has grown in England and the newly established Scottish Women’s Premiership also evidences this. However, as this chapter has shown, it is only with this new level of wider professionalism, combined with the increased resourcing of the technical directorate, notably under Phil Neville and then accelerated by Sarina Wiegman, that elite success has come about. Firstly, in 2018, I was asked to present to Phil Neville and Gareth Southgate at St George’s Park on the history of England, male and female. The burden of history is clearly gendered with the weight of 1966, hanging over subsequent male teams who are expected to win a major tournament. For the women, the Euros finals of 1984 and 2009 were their highest placing in a major tournament. So there was a certain freedom of expectation, but also a weight of not just thirty years of hurt, as the song Three Lions on a shirt goes, but 160 years of pain. Reprising this session with Sarina Wiegman and her team in December 2021, I was invited to present to the senior squad players in February 2022, ahead of the Arnold Clark Cup. Alongside Carol Thomas, Kerry Davis, and three of the unofficial Women’s World Cup players in 1971, Chris Lockwood, Gill Sayell, and Leah Caleb, we discussed the history summarised in this book. Lucy Bronze knew about the ban. Many of the players were angry with what they heard, notably Beth Mead, who wrote about it in her autobiography.16 When the Lionesses won at Wembley in July 2022, they did so for all of those who had gone before, neglected, derided, and under-funded. So they stood for something beyond themselves. It was great to be in the stands as Gill’s guest and speak with Leah and Chris and their team members. I also met up with Carol Thomas and very briefly saw Kerry Davis. My niece Kelly, who is exactly twenty years younger than me, watched with her two daughters, aged eleven and six. Kelly had played on our women’s football team aged 14 when I was thirty-four, until I retired aged forty. She had seen first-hand some of the exclusion and intimidation of women’s football summarised in this book. So it was very special for her girls to see a full Wembley stadium singing Football’s Coming Home, and it mean the women. Twenty-five years of research in this  Beth Mead Lioness: my journey to glory (London: Seven Dials, 2022) pp. 144–146.

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topic was, for that, worth it. I so admired the team and how they have behaved since. A fitting awareness of the role of history in shaping the future. A simple game, football, but it’s never just about the football. So what next? There has been a great deal of excitement about the England Women’s Euro 2022 legacy. Not least, the UK government announced girls must be given equal access to football and other sports in schools. Player Lotte Wubben-Moy led the entire twenty-three-player squad in an open letter to Rishi Sunak asking for all girls to be given access to football in school. Up to £57 million in funding will be used to allow selected schools around England to keep their sport facilities open for longer for after-school activities, especially targeted at girls, disadvantaged children, and those with special educational needs. Mary Earps and other players have a platform to inspire not just a next generation of girls, but boys too, having developed resilience in semi-professional careers, having only recently won full-time professional contracts. Nottingham-­ born Earps had played at Doncaster Belles, Birmingham, Bristol City, and Reading while working a series of low-paid, part-time jobs to fund the petrol money required to drive to training. Despite making only six first-team appearances in Germany, signing for Wolfsburg was therefore a big achievement, before Manchester United signed her as goalkeeper in 2019. With a degree in information management and business studies, Earps owns a couple of properties and has an eye on entrepreneurship, once her playing days are done. She has just turned 30 at the time of writing, so there is some time left yet, and a Women’s World Cup Runner’s Up medal, and FIFA goalkeeper of the year nomination to add to her accomplishments. These educated, hard-working young women who have no sense of entitlement have connected with a much broader public than football fans. Like Alex Scott, Fara Williams and Eniola Aluko who have all gone on to media careers, football has been a platform for wider social change. Mary Earps’ England team mate Jill Scott has used her playing profile for her retirement projects after the women’s Euros in 2022 and went on to win the ITV reality show I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Football is now a platform that player can use to go into the media or other areas of public life that appeal to their interests. Earps has mentioned that, having made her debut in 2017, she didn’t feature at the 2019 World Cup because Phil Neville did not particularly rate her, making her the third choice goalkeeper in the squad. With Wiegman’s different coaching style, not only did she become first choice, but won the FIFA best female goalkeeper for 2022. Little wonder then, that TV and film documentary makers are rushing to women’s football content when the stories are so good. Having recently won battles for their rights as professional workers, it’s quite likely that more England players will found Production companies, such as the USA’s Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe have done, to produce and make their own content. Football has always been part of the

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wider entertainment industry, and the young women of the England squad are changing the broader social context. As to my own work, I continue to research the junior England women’s teams, from Under-15 to Under-23s to assess the personalities and players who successfully make their way through the player pathways. This is my next piece of published work. I am also working on the fandom of the England senior women’s team and was in Australia for the Women’s World Cup 2023.

 Appendix A: Legacy Player Numbers Issued Wembley Stadium 7 October 2022

1 Sue Buckett 2 Morag Kirkland (Pearce) 3 Sandra Graham 4 Janet Bagguley (Clark) 5 Sheila Parker (Porter) 6 Margaret McGroarty 7 Lynda Hale 8 Sylvia Gore 9 Pat Davies 10 Jeannie Allott 11 Jean Wilson 12 Wendy Owen 13 Julia Manning (Brunton) 14 Eileen Foreman 15 Margaret Miks (Hobson) 16 Pat Firth (Mitchell-Firth) 17 Sue Whyatt 18 Sue Lopez 19 Lesley Stirling 20 Sandra Choat 21 Liz Deighan 22 Carol McCune (Thomas) 23 Lorraine Dobb (Hanson) 24 Pauline Chilton (May) 25 Alison Leatherbarrow 26 Elaine Badrock 27 Rayner Hadden

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 J. Williams, Legendary Lionesses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36760-1

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28 Linda Coffin 29 Cathy Hamstead (Bird) 30 Debbie Smith (Cowell) 31 Angela Poppy 32 Audrey Rigby 33 Pat Chapman 34 Debbie Day 35 Linda Curl 36 Christine/Chris Hutchinson (Knox) 37 Josie Lee (Clifford) 38 Jan Milner 39 Patricia Napier (Cavanagh) 40 Debbie Bampton 41 Eileen Lillyman 42 Sarah Pollard 43 Debbie Mack 44 Janet Turner (Mayer) 45 Theresa Wiseman 46 Sheree Jameson (Livesey) 47 Marrie Wieczorek 48 Maureen Martin (Reynolds) 49 Linda Young 50 Vicky Johnson (Sartain) 51 Tracy Doe 52 Terry Springett 53 Terri Irvine (Hinton) 54 Mary Meacham (Rudkin) 55 Angela Gallimore 56 Gill Coultard 57 Loraine Hunt (Smith) 58 Julie Hemsley 59 Kerry Davis 60 Maxine Fowkes (Johnson) 61 Hope Powell 62 Brenda Sempare 63 Jackie Sherrard 64 Jackie Slack 65 Marieanne Spacey (Spacey-Cale) 66 Sallie Jackson 67 Joanne Broadhurst 68 Sue Law (Ravenlaw) 69 Jane Stanley 70 Lorraine Hoey 71 Tracy Davidson (Scragg) 72 Karen Walker

  APPENDIX A: LEGACY PLAYER NUMBERS ISSUED WEMBLEY STADIUM 7 OCTOBER 2022 

73 Karen Skillcorn 74 Carole Osborne 75 Clare Lambert (Knapton) 76 Maria Harper 77 Janice Murray 78 Tina Mapes 79 Louise Waller (Newstead) 80 Gail Borman 81 Lesley Shipp (Higgs) 82 Clare Taylor 83 Carol Harwood 84 Mandy O'Callaghan 85 Helen Clancy 86 Vanessa Kemp 87 Louise Cafferkey 88 Samantha Britton 89 Samantha Hayward (Howarth) 90 Olivia Hughes 91 Michelle Jackson (Slater) 92 Michelle Curley 93 Julie Tomlinson 94 Sarah Begg (Tongue) 95 Karen Burke 96 Isobel Pollard 97 Sian Williams 98 Frances Carroll 99 Kirsty Pealling 100 Mandy Lowe 101 Donna Smith 102 Julie Fletcher 103 Karen Farley (Livermore-Farley) 104 Becky Easton 105 Chantel Woodhead 106 Pauline Cope (Boanas) 107 Alex Cottier (Cottier-Small) 108 Kelly Smith 109 Maureen Marley 110 Tara Proctor 111 Marie-Anne Catterall 112 Claire Lacey 113 Vicky Exley 114 Mary Phillip 115 Clare Wheatley (Stevens) 116 Kelley Few 117 Kim Jerray-Silver

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118 Sue Smith 119 Rachel Brown (Brown-Finnis) 120 Faye White 121 Pru Buckley 122 Natasha Daly 123 Kate Massey 124 Sarah Reed (Coetzee) 125 Tina Lindsay 126 Rachel Yankey 127 Danielle Murphy 128 Justine Lorton 129 Melanie Garside (Garside-Wight) 130 Claire Utley 131 Angela Banks (Taylor-Banks) 132 Katie Chapman 133 Leanne Hall 134 Casey Stoney 135 Rachel Unitt 136 Layla Young 137 Aran Embleton 138 Amanda Barr 139 Carly Hunt 140 Fara Williams 141 Rachel McArthur (Stowell) 142 Una Nwajei 143 Kristy Moore 144 Jody Handley 145 Leanne Champ 146 Laura Bassett 147 Kelly McDougall 148 Carmaine Walker 149 Ellen Maggs 150 Alexa Hunn (Hunn-Phillips) 162 Lianne Sanderson 163 Jill Scott 164 Steph Houghton 165 Carly Telford 166 Kay Hawke 167 Michelle Hickmott 168 Jess Clarke 169 Dani Buet (Bowman) 170 Dunia Susi 171 Rachel Williams 172 Gemma Davison 173 Natasha Dowie

  APPENDIX A: LEGACY PLAYER NUMBERS ISSUED WEMBLEY STADIUM 7 OCTOBER 2022 

174 Ellen White 175 Claire Rafferty 176 Sophie Bradley (Bradley-Auckland) 177 Fern Whelan 178 Jade Moore 179 Toni Duggan 180 Jordan Nobbs 181 Lucy Bronze 182 Gemma Bonner 183 Demi Stokes 184 Alex Greenwood 185 Lizzie Durack 186 Fran Kirby 187 Jodie Taylor 188 Amy Turner 189 Isobel Christiansen 190 Danielle Carter 191 Gilly Flaherty 192 Drew Spence 193 Laura Coombs 194 Jemma Rose 195 Rachel Daly 196 Nikita Parris 197 Millie Bright 198 Mary Earps 199 Melissa Lawley 200 Keira Walsh 201 Jess Carter 202 Abbie McManus 203 Hannah Blundell 204 Beth Mead 205 Leah Williamson 206 Gabrielle George 207 Lauren Bruton 208 Lucy Staniforth 209 Georgia Stanway 210 Chioma Ubogagu 211 Ellie Roebuck 212 Chloe Kelly 213 Bethany England 214 Lauren Hemp 215 Alessia Russo 216 Ella Toone 217 Lotte Wubben-Moy 218 Sandy MacIver

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219 Ebony Salmon 220 Niamh Charles 221 Katie Zelem 222 Hannah Hampton 223 Lauren James 224 Esme Morgan 225 Jess Park 226 Maya Le Tissier 227 Katie Robinson

Appendix B: Official England Women’s Senior Matches 1972–2022

Matches 1–50 (1972–1984) Game 1: Scotland 2-3 England 18 November 1972 International Game Ravenscraig Park, Greenock Game 2: France 0-3 England 22 April 1973 International Game Brion, Chateauroux Game 3: England 8-0 Scotland 23 June 1973 International Game Nuneaton Borough FC Game 4: England 5-1 Northern Ireland 7 September 1973 International Game Bath City FC Game 5: England 1-0 Netherlands 9 November 1973 International Game Elm Park, Reading Game 6: England 5-0 Wales 17 March 1974 International Game Slough Stadium Game 7: Netherlands 0-3 England 31 May 1974 International Game Groningen Game 8: England 2-0 France 7 November 1974 International Game Plough Lane, Wimbledon Game 9: Switzerland 1-3 England 19 April 1975 International Game Basle Game 10: Sweden 2-0 England 15 June 1975 International Game Ullevi, Gothenburg Game 11: England 1-3 Sweden 7 September 1975 International Game Plough Lane, Wimbledon Game 12: England 2-1 Netherlands 2 May 1976 International Game Blackpool Borough Rugby League Club Game 13: England 4-0 Wales 22 May 1976 Three Nations Tournament Bedford Town FC Game 14: England 5-1 Scotland 23 May 1976 Three Nations Tournament Enfield Town FC © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 J. Williams, Legendary Lionesses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36760-1

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Game 15: Italy 2-0 England 2 June 1976 International Game Rome Game 16: Italy 2-1 England 5 June 1976 International Game Cesena Game 17: Wales 1-2 England 17 October 1976 International Game Eugene Cross Welfare Ground, Ebbw Vale Game 18: France 0-0 England 26 February 1977 International Game Longjumeau, Paris Game 19: England 9-1 Switzerland 28 April 1977 International Game Boothferry Park, Hull City FC Game 20: Scotland 2-1 England 29 May 1977 International Game Downfield Park, Dundee Game 21: England 5-0 Wales 18 September 1977 International Game Warminster FC Game 22: England 1-0 Italy 15 November 1977 International Game Plough Lane, Wimbledon Game 23: England 6-1 Republic of Ireland 2 May 1978 International Game St. James’ Park, Exeter City FC Game 24: Netherlands 3-1 England 30 September 1978 International Game Vlissingen Game 25: England 3-0 Belgium 31 October 1978 International Game The Dell, Southampton FC Game 26: Denmark 3-1 England 19 May 1979 International Game Hvidovre, Copenhagen Game 27: Finland 1-3 England 19 July 1979 Italian Tournament Sorrento, Italy Game 28: Switzerland 0-2 England 23 July 1979 Italian Tournament Sorrento, Italy Game 29: Italy 3-1 England 25 July 1979 Italian Tournament  - semi-­final Naples, Italy Game 30: Sweden 0-0 England (4-3 on penalty shootout) 27 July 1979 Italian Tournament – third place game Scafati, Italy Game 31: England 2-2 Denmark 13 September 1979 International Game Boothferry Park, Hull City FC Game 32: Belgium 2-1 England 1 May 1980 International Game Ostend Game 33: England 6-1 Wales 1 June 1980 International Game Warminster Game 34: England 1-1 Sweden 17 September 1980 International Game Filbert Street, Leicester City FC Game 35: Republic of Ireland 0-5 England 3 May 1981 International Game Dalymount Park, Dublin Game 36: Japan 0-4 England 6 September 1981 International Game Kobe, Japan Game 37: Denmark 1-0 England 9 September 1981 International Game Tokyo, Japan Game 38: England 0-3 Norway 25 October 1981International Game Abbey Stadium, Cambridge United FC Game 39: Sweden 1-1 England 26 May 1982 International Game Kinna, Gothenburg

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Game 40: Italy 2-0 England 11 June 1982 International Game Pescara Game 41: England 7-1 Northern Ireland 19 September 1982 Euro Qualifier Gresty Road, Crewe Alexandra FC Game 42: Scotland 0-4 England 3 October 1982 Euro Qualifier Dumbarton Game 43: Republic of Ireland 0-1 England 7 November 1982 Euro Qualifier Dublin Game 44: Northern Ireland 0-4 England 14 May 1983 Euro Qualifier Seaview, Belfast Game 45: England 2-0 Scotland 22 May 1983 Euro Qualifier Elland Road, Leeds United FC Game 46: England 6-0 Republic of Ireland 11 September 1983 Euro Qualifier Elm Park, Reading FC Game 47: England 2-2 Sweden 30 October 1983 International Game The Valley, Charlton Athletic FC Game 48: England 2-1 Denmark 8 April 1984 EURO semi-final first leg Gresty Road, Crewe Alexandra FC Game 49: Denmark 0-1 England 28 April 1984 EURO semi-final second leg Hjorring Game 50: Sweden 1-0 England 12 May 1984 EURO final first leg Ullevi, Gothenburg

Matches 51–100 (1984–1990) Game 51: England 1-0 Sweden (1-1 aggregate, Sweden win 4-3 after penalty shootout) 27 May 1984 EURO final second leg Kenilworth Road, Luton Town FC Game 52: Belgium 1-1 England 20 August 1984 1984 Mundialito Lido di Jesolo, Italy Game 53: West Germany 2-0 England 22 August 1984 1984 Mundialito Lido di Jesolo, Italy Game 54: Italy 1-1 England 24 August 1984 1984 Mundialito Lido di Jesolo, Italy Game 55: Belgium 1-2 England 25 August 1984 1984 Mundialito  – Third place play-off Caorle, Italy Game 56: Italy 1-3 England 27 August 1984 International Game Monfalcone, Italy Game 57: England 4-0 Scotland 17 March 1985 Euro Qualifier Deepdale, Preston North End FC Game 58: Northern Ireland 1-8 England 25 May 1985 Euro Qualifier Antrim Game 59: England 6-0 Wales 17 August 1985 International Game Ramsey, Isle of Man Game 60: Denmark 1-0 England 19 August 1985 1985 Mundialito Caorle, Italy Game 61: Italy 1-1 England 20 August 1985 1985 Mundialito Lido di Jesolo, Italy Game 62: USA 1-3 England 23 August 1985 1985 Mundialito Caorle, Italy

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Game 63: Italy 2-3 England 25 August 1985 1985 Mundialito Final Caorle, Italy Game 64: Republic of Ireland 0-6 England 22 September 1985 Euro Qualifier Cork City Game 65: England 10-0 Northern Ireland 16 March 1986 Euro Qualifier Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers FC Game 66: England 4-0 Republic of Ireland 27 April 1986 Euro Qualifier Elm Park, Reading FC Game 67: Scotland 1-3 England 12 October 1986 Euro Qualifier Kirkcaldy, Raith Rovers FC Game 68: Republic of Ireland 0-1 England 29 March 1987 International Game Dalymount Park, Dublin Game 69: England 6-0 Northern Ireland 11 April 1987 International Game Elland Road, Leeds United FC Game 70: Sweden 3-2 England (AET) 11 June 1987 Euro semi-­ final Moss, Norway Game 71: Italy 2-1 England 13 June 1987 Euro third place play-­ off Drammen, Norway Game 72: Finland 1-2 England 25 October 1987 Euro Qualifier Kirkkonummi Game 73: England 2-1 Denmark 8 November 1987 Euro Qualifier Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers Game 74: Denmark 2-0 England 8 May 1988 Euro Qualifier Herning Game 75: Italy B 0-3 England 21 July 1988 1988 Mundialito Riva del Garda Game 76: France 1-1 England 23 July 1988 1988 Mundialito Riva del Garda Game 77: USA 0-2 England 27 July 1988 1988 Mundialito semi-final Riva del Garda Game 78: Italy 1-2 England (AET)30 July 1988 1988 Mundialito final Arco Game 79: Norway 2-0 England 21 August 1988 Euro Qualifier Klepp Game 80: England 1-1 Finland 4 September 1988 Euro Qualifier The Den, Millwall FC Game 81: England 1-3 Norway 18 September 1988 Euro Qualifier Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers FC Game 82: Scotland 0-3 England 30 April 1989 International Game Kirkcaldy, Raith Rovers FC Game 83: Netherlands 0-0 England 13 May 1989 International Game Epinal Game 84: Belgium 0-2 England 14 May 1989 International Game Epinal Game 85: England 0-2 Sweden 23 May 1989 International Game Wembley Stadium Game 86: England 0-0 Finland 1 October 1989 Euro Qualifier Griffin Park, Brentford FC Game 87: England 1-1 Italy 1 November 1989 International Game Wycombe Wanderers FC Game 88: Belgium 0-3 England 17 March 1990 Euro Qualifier Ypres Game 89: England 1-0 Belgium 7 April 1990 Euro Qualifier Bramall Lane, Sheffield United FC

  APPENDIX B: OFFICIAL ENGLAND WOMEN’S SENIOR MATCHES 1972–2022 

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Game 90: Scotland 0-4 England 6 May 1990 International GameSt. Mirren FC, Paisley Game 91: England 4-0 Scotland  12 May 1990 International Game Wembley Stadium Game 92: Norway 2-0 England 27 May 1990 Euro Qualifier Klepp Game 93: West Germany 3-1 England  5 August 1990 North America CupBlaine, Minneapolis Game 94: USA B 0-1 England  7 August 1990 North America Cup Blaine, Minneapolis Game 95: USA 3-0 England  9 August 1990 North America Cup Blaine, Minneapolis Game 96: USSR 1-1 England 11 August 1990 North America Cup Blaine, Minneapolis Game 97: England 1-4 Italy 18 August 1990 International Game Wembley Stadium Game 98: England 0-0 Norway 2 September 1990 Euro Qualifier Old Trafford, Manchester United Game 99: Finland 0-0 England 29 September 1990 EURO Qualifier Tampere Game 100: England 1-4 Germany 25 November 1990 EURO quarter-final first leg Wycombe Wanderers

Matches 101–150 (1990–1997) Game 101: Germany 2-0 England 16 December 1990 EURO quarter-final second leg Bochum Game 102: USSR 1-1 England 1 April 1991 International Tournament Spartak Varna Stadium, Bulgaria Game 103: China 0-0 England 2 April 1991 International Tournament Spartak Varna Stadium, Bulgaria Game 104: Sweden 2-0 England 7 April 1991 International Tournament Spartak Varna Stadium, Bulgaria Game 105: England 5-0 Scotland 20 April 1991 International Game Wycombe Wanderers FC Game 106: USA 3-1 England 25 May 1991 International Game Hirson, France Game 107: Denmark 0-0 England 28 June 1991 International Game Fanoe, Denmark Game 108: Denmark 3-3 England 30 June 1991 International Game Fanoe, Denmark Game 109: USSR 1-2 England 20 July 1991 International Game Dimitrov, USSR Game 110: USSR 0-2 England 21 July 1991 International Game Kashira, USSR Game 111: England 2-0 USSR 7 September 1991 International Game The Dell, Southampton Game 112: England 1-0 USSR 8 September 1991 International Game Goldstone Ground, Brighton & Hove Albion

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APPENDIX B: OFFICIAL ENGLAND WOMEN’S SENIOR MATCHES 1972–2022

Game 113: England 1-0 Scotland 18 April 1992 Euro Qualifier Bescot Stadium, Walsall FC Game 114: England 4-0 Iceland 17 May 1992 Euro Qualifier Huish Park, Yeovil Town FC Game 115: Iceland 1-2 England 19 July 1992 Euro Qualifier Kopavogur, Iceland Game 116: Scotland 0-2 England 23 August 1992 Euro Qualifier McDiarmid Park, Perth Game 117: Italy 3-2 England  17 October 1992 Euro quarter-final first leg Solofra, Avellino Game 118: England 0-3 Italy 7 November 1992 Euro quarter-final second leg Millmoor, Rotherham United FC Game 119: Slovenia 0-10 England  25 September 1993 Euro Qualifier Ljubljana Game 120: Belgium 0-3 England 6 November 1993 Euro Qualifier Koksijde Game 121: Spain 0-0 England  19 December 1993 Euro Qualifier Osuna, Seville, Spain Game 122: England 0-0 Spain 20 February 1994 Euro Qualifier Valley Parade, Bradford City FC Game 123: England 6-0 Belgium 13 March 1994 Euro Qualifier City Ground, Nottingham Forest FC Game 124: England 10-0 Slovenia 17 April 1994 Euro Qualifier Griffin Park, Brentford FC Game 125: Iceland 1-2 England 8 October 1994 Euro quarter-final first leg Reykjavik, Iceland Game 126: England 2-1 Iceland 30 October 1994 Euro quarter-final second leg Goldstone Ground, Brighton & Hove Albion Game 127: England 1-4 Germany 11 December 1994 Euro semi-final first leg Vicarage Road, Watford FC Game 128: Italy 1-1 England 25 January 1995 International Game Florence, Italy Game 129: Germany 2-1 England 23 February 1995 Euro semi-final second leg Bochum, Germany Game 130: Sweden 4-0 England 13 May 1995 International Gam Halmstad, Sweden Game 131: England 3-2 Canada 6 June 1995 World Cup Sweden 1995 Helsingborg Game 132: Norway 2-0 England 8 June 1995 World Cup Sweden 1995 Karlstad Game 133: Nigeria 2-3 England 10 June 1995 World Cup Sweden 1995 Karlstad Game 134: Germany 3-0 England 13 June 1995 World Cup Sweden 1995 quarter-final Vasteras Game 135: England 1-1 Italy 1 November 1995 Euro Qualifier Roker Park, Sunderland

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Game 136: England 5-0 Croatia 19 November 1995 Euro Qualifier The Valley, Charlton Athletic FC Game 137: Portugal 0-5 England 11 February 1996 Euro Qualifier Benavente Game 138: Italy 2-1 England 16 March 1996 Euro Qualifier Cosenza Game 139: Croatia 0-2 England 18 April 1996 Euro Qualifier Osijek Game 140: England 3-0 Portugal 19 May 1996 Euro Qualifier Griffin Park, Brentford Game 141: Spain 2-1 England 8 September 1996 Euro Qualifier play-­off Montilla, Cordoba Game 142: England 1-1 Spain 29 September 1996 Euro Qualifier play-­off Prenton Park, Tranmere Rovers Game 143: England 4-6 Germany 27 February 1997 International Game Deepdale, Preston North End Game 144: England 6-0 Scotland 9 March 1997 International Game Bramall Lane, Sheffield United Game 145: Italy 2-0 England 23 April 1997 International GameTurin Game 146: USA 5-0 England 9 May 1997 International Game San Jose Game 147: USA 6-0 England 11 May 1997 International Game Portland Game 148: Norway 4-0 England 8 June 1997 International Game Lillestrom Game 149: Scotland 0-4 England 23 August 1997 International Game Livingstone Game 150: Germany 3-0 England 25 September 1997 World Cup Qualifier Dessau

Matches 151–200 (1997–2003) Game 151: England 1-0 Netherlands 30 October 1997 World Cup Qualifier Upton Park, West Ham United Game 152: France 3-2 England 15 February 1998 International Game Alencon Game 153: England 0-1 Germany 8 March 1998 World Cup Qualifier The Den, Millwall Game 154: England 1-2 Italy 21 April 1998 International Game The Hawthorns, West Bromwich Albion Game 155: England 1-2 Norway 14 May 1998 World Cup Qualifier Boundary Park, Oldham Athletic Game 156: Netherlands 2-1 England 23 May 1998 World Cup Qualifier Waalwijk Game 157: England 0-1 Sweden 26 July 1998 International Game Victoria Road, Dagenham & Redbridge Game 158: Norway 2-0 England 15 August 1998 World Cup Qualifier Lillestrom Game 159: Romania 1-4 England 13 September 1998 World Cup Qualifier Campina Game 160: England 2-1 Romania 11 October 1998 World Cup Qualifier Adams Park, Wycombe Wanderers

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APPENDIX B: OFFICIAL ENGLAND WOMEN’S SENIOR MATCHES 1972–2022

Game 161: Italy 4-1 England 26 May 1999 International Game Bologna Game 162: England 1-0 Denmark 22 August 1999 International Game Odense Game 163: England 0-1 France 15 September 1999 International Game Huish Park, Yeovil Town Game 164: Switzerland 0-3 England 17 October 1999 Euro Qualifier Zolfingen Game 165: England 2-0 Portugal 20 February 2000 Euro Qualifier Oakwell, Barnsley FC Game 166: England 0-3 Norway 7 March 2000 Euro Qualifier Carrow Road, Norwich City Game 167: Portugal 2-2 England 22 April 2000 Euro Qualifier Lisbon Game 168: England 1-0 Switzerland 13 May 2000 Euro Qualifier Ashton Gate, Bristol City Game 169: Norway 8-0 England 4 June 2000 Euro Qualifier Moss Game 170: France 1-0 England 16 August 2000 International Game Marseille Game 171: England 2-1 Finland 28 September 2000 International Game Brisbane Road, Leyton Orient Game 172: Ukraine 1-2 England 30 October 2000 Euro Qualifier play-­off Borispol, Kiev Game 173: England 2-0 Ukraine 28 November 2000 Euro Qualifier play-­off Brisbane Road, Leyton Orient Game 174: England 4-2 Spain 22 March 2001 International Game Kenil worth Road, Luton Town Game 175: England 1-0 Scotland 27 May 2001 International Game Bolton Wanderers Game 176: Russia 1-1 England 24 June 2001 Euro Finals Jena, Germany Game 177: Sweden 4-0 England 27 June 2001 Euro Finals Jena, Germany Game 178: Germany 3-0 England 30 June 2001 Euro Finals Jena, Germany Game 179: England 0-3 Denmark 23 August 2001 International Game Six fields Stadium, Northampton Town Game 180: Germany 3-1 England 27 September 2001 World Cup Qualifier Kassell Game 181: England 0-0 Netherlands 4 November 2001 World Cup Qualifier Blundell Park, Grimsby Town Game 182: Portugal 1-1 England 24 November 2001 World Cup Qualifier Aveiro Game 183: Sweden 5-0 England 25 January 2002 International Game La Manga, Spain Game 184: England 3-0 Portugal 24 February 2002 World Cup Qualifier Fratton Park, Portsmouth Game 185: Norway 3-1 England 1 March 2002 Algarve Cup Ferreiras, Portugal Game 186: USA 2-0 England 3 March 2002 Algarve Cup Ferreiras, Portugal Game 187: Sweden 6-3 England 5 March 2002 Algarve Cup Lagos, Portugal

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149

Game 188: Scotland 1-4 England 7 March 2002 Algarve Cup ninth place playoff Quarteira, Portugal Game 189: Netherlands 1-4 England 23 March 2002 World Cup Qualifier The Hague Game 190: England 0-1 Germany 19 May 2002 World Cup Qualifier Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace FC Game 191: England 0-1 Nigeria 23 July 2002 International Game Carrow Road, Norwich Game 192: Iceland 2-2 England 16 September 2002 World Cup play-off semifinal Reykjavik Game 193: England 1-0 Iceland 22 September 2002 World Cup play-off semifinal St. Andrews, Birmingham City Game 194: England 0-1 France 17 October 2002 World Cup play-off final Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace Game 195: France 1-0 England 16 November 2002 World Cup play-off final St Etienne Game 196: Italy 1-0 England 25 February 2003 International Game Viareggio Game 197: USA 6-0 England 17 May 2003 International Game Birmingham, Alabama Game 198: Canada 4-0 England 19 May 2003 International Game Lachine, Montreal Game 199: Canada 4-0 England 22 May 2003 International Game Ottawa Game 200: England 1-0 Australia 3 September 2003 International Game Turf Moor, Burnley

Matches 201–250 (2003–2008) Game 201: Germany 4-0 England 11 September 2003 International Game Darmstadt Game 202: Russia 2-2 England 21 October 2003 International Game Moscow Game 203: England 5-0 Scotland 13 November 2003 International Game Deepdale, Preston North End Game 204: England 2-0 Denmark 19 February 2004 International Game Fratton Park, Portsmouth Game 205: England 0-3 Nigeria 22 April 2004 International Game Madejski Stadium, Reading Game 206: England 1-0 Iceland 14 May 2004 International Game London Road, Peterborough United Game 207: England 1-2 Russia 19 August 2004 International Game Memorial Stadium, Bristol Rovers Game 208: Netherlands 1-2 England 18 September 2004 International Game Heerhugowaard Game 209: Netherlands 0-1 England 22 September 2004 International Game Tuitjenhoorn

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APPENDIX B: OFFICIAL ENGLAND WOMEN’S SENIOR MATCHES 1972–2022

Game 210: England 4-1 Italy 17 February 2005 International Game National Hockey Stadium, Milton Keynes Game 211: Northern Ireland 0-4 England 9 March 2005 Algarve Cup Paderne, Portugal Game 212: Portugal 0-4 England 11 March 2005 Algarve Cup Faro, Portugal Game 213: Mexico 0-5 England 13 March 2005 Algarve Cup Lagos, Portugal Game 214: China 0-0 England (5-3 on penalty shootout)  15 March 2005 Algarve Cup seventh place play-off Guia, Portugal Game 215: England 2-1 Scotland 21 April 2005 International Game Prenton Park, Tranmere Rovers Game 216: England 1-0 Norway 6 May 2005 International Game Oakwell, Barnsley Game 217: England 4-1 Czech Republic  25 May 2005 International Game Bescot Stadium, Walsall Game 218: England 3-2 Finland 5 June 2005 EURO Finals City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester City Game 219: England 1-2 Denmark 8 June 2005 EURO Finals Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers Game 220: England 0-1 Sweden  11 June 2005 EURO Finals Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers Game 221: Austria 1-4 England  1 September 2005 World Cup Qualifier Amstetten Game 222: Hungary 0-13 England  27 October 2005 World Cup Qualifier Tapolca Game 223: Netherlands 0-1 England  17 November 2005 World Cup Qualifier Zwolle Game 224: Sweden 0-0 England 7 February 2006 International Game Larnaca Game 225: Sweden 1-1 England 9 February 2006 International Game Achna Game 226: England 1-0 Iceland 9 March 2006 International Game Carrow Road, Norwich City Game 227: England 0-0 France 26 March 2006 World Cup Qualifier Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers Game 228: England 4-0 Austria 20 April 2006 World Cup Qualifier Priestfield, Gillingham Game 229: England 2-0 11 May 2006 World Cup Qualifier St. Mary’s, Southampton Game 230: England 4-0 Netherlands  31 August 2006 World Cup Qualifier The Valley, Charlton Athletic Game 231: France 1-1 England 30 September 2006 World Cup Qualifier Rennes Game 232: Germany 5-1 England 25 October 2006 International Game Aalan Game 233: China 2-0 England 26 January 2007 Four Nations Tournament Guangzhou Game 234: USA 1-1 England  28 January 2007 Four Nations Tournament Guangzhou

  APPENDIX B: OFFICIAL ENGLAND WOMEN’S SENIOR MATCHES 1972–2022 

151

Game 235: Germany 0-0 England 30 January 2007 Four Nations Tournament Guangzhou Game 236: England 6-0 Russia 8 March 2007 International Game Stadium MK, Milton Keynes Game 237: England 1-0 Scotland 11 March 2007 International Game Adams Park, Wycombe Wanderers Game 238: England 0-1 Netherlands  14 March 2007 International Game County Ground, Swindon Town Game 239: England 4-0 Northern Ireland  13 May 2007 Euro Qualifier Priestfield, Gillingham Game 240: England 4-0 Iceland 17 May 2007 International Game Roots Hall, Southend United Game 241: Japan 2-2 England 11 September 2007 World Cup Finals group stage Shanghai, China Game 242: England 0-0 Germany  14 September 2007 World Cup Finals group stage Shanghai, China Game 243: Argentina 1-6 England  17 September 2007 World Cup Finals group stage Chengdu, China Game 244: USA 3-0 England  22 September 2007 World Cup quarter-­final Tianjin, China Game 245: England 4-0 Belarus  27 October 2007 Euro Qualifier Bescot Stadium, Walsall Game 246: England 1-0 Spain 25 November 2007 Euro Qualifier Shrewsbury Town Game 247: Sweden 2-0 England 12 February 2008 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 248: England 2-1 Norway 14 February 2008 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 249: Northern Ireland 0-2 England 6 March 2008 Euro Qualifier Lurgan Game 250: England 0-0 Czech Republic 20 March 2008 Euro Qualifier Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster Rovers

Matches 251–300 (2008–2012) Game 251: Belarus 1-6 England 8 May 2008 Euro Qualifier Minsk Game 252: Germany 3-0 England 17 July 2008 International Game Unterhaching Game 253: Czech Republic 1-5 England 28 September 2008 Euro Qualifier Prague Game 254: Spain 2-2 England 2 October 2008 Euro Qualifier Zamora Game 255: Finland 2-2 England 9 February 2009 International Game Larnaca, Cyprus Game 256: Finland 1-4 England 11 February 2009 International Game Larnaca, Cyprus Game 257: South Africa 0-6 England 5 March 2009 Cyprus Cup Larnaca, Cyprus Game 258: France 2-2 England 7 March 2009 Cyprus Cup Paralimni, Cyprus

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APPENDIX B: OFFICIAL ENGLAND WOMEN’S SENIOR MATCHES 1972–2022

Game 259: Scotland 0-3 England 10 March 2009 Cyprus Cup Larnaca, Cyprus Game 260: Canada 1-3 England 12 March 2009 Cyprus Cup Nicosia, Cyprus Game 261: England 3-0 Norway 23 April 2009 International Game Shrewsbury Town Game 262: England 0-2 Iceland16 July 2009 International Game Colchester Community Stadium Game 263: England 1-0 Denmark 22 July 2009 International Game County Ground, Swindon Town Game 264: Italy 2-1 England 25 August 2009 Euro Finals Lahti, Finland Game 265: Russia 2-3 England 28 August 2009 Euro Finals Helsinki, Finland Game 266: Sweden 1-1 England 31 August 2009 Euro Finals Turku, Finland Game 267: Finland 2-3 England 3 September 2009 Euro Finals quarter-­final Turku, Finland Game 268: Netherlands 1-2 England (after extra time) 6 September 2009 Euro Finals semi-final Tampere, Finland Game 269: Germany 6-2 England 10 September 2009 Euro Finals  - Final Helsinki, Finland Game 265: Russia 2-3 England 28 August 2009 Euro Finals Helsinki, Finland Game 270: England 8-0 Malta 25 October 2009 World Cup Qualifier Bloom field Road, Blackpool Game 271: Turkey 3-0 England 26 November 2009 World Cup Qualifier Izmir Game 272: South Africa 0-1 England 24 February 2010 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 273: Canada 1-0 England 26 February 2010 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 274: Switzerland 2-2 England 1 March 2010 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 275: Italy 2-3 England 3 March 2010 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 276: England 3-0 Austria 25 March 2010 World Cup Qualifier Loftus Road, Queens Park Rangers Game 277: England 1-0 Spain1 April 2010 World Cup Qualifier The Den, Millwall Game 278: Malta 0-6 England 20 May 2010 World Cup Qualifier Ta’Qali, Malta Game 279: Spain 2-2 England 19 June 2010 World Cup Qualifier El Montecillo, Aranda De Duero Game 280: England 3-0 Turkey29 July 2010 World Cup Qualifier Bescot Stadium, Walsall Game 281: Austria 0-4 England 12 August 2010 World Cup Qualifier Krems Game 282: England 2-0 Switzerland 12 September 2010 World Cup Qualifier play-off first leg Shrewsbury Town Game 283: Switzerland 2-3 England 16 September 2010 World Cup Qualifier play-off second leg Niedermatten Game 284: South Korea 0-0 England 19 October 2010 Peace Cup Suwon, South Korea Game 285: New Zealand 0-0 England 21 October 2010 Peace Cup Suwon, South Korea

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Game 286: Italy 0-2 England 2 March 2011 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 287: Scotland 2-0 England 4 March 2011 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 288: Canada 2-0 England 7 March 2011 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 289: South Korea 0-2 England 9 March 2011 Cyprus Cup Dasaki Achna Game 290: England 2-1 USA 2 April 2011 International Game Brisbane Road, Leyton Orient FC Game 291: England 2-0 Sweden17 May 2011 International Game Kassam Stadium, Oxford Game 292: Mexico 1-1 England 27 June 2011 World Cup Finals Wolfsburg Game 293: New Zealand 1-2 England 1 July 2011 World Cup Finals Dresden Game 294: Japan 0-2 England 5 July 2011 World Cup Finals Augsburg Game 295: France 1-1 England (lost 3-4 on penalty shootout) 9 July 2011 World Cup quarter-final Leverkusen Game 296: Serbia 2-2 England 17 September 2011 Euro Qualifier Belgrade Game 297: England 4-0 Slovenia 22 September 2011 Euro Qualifier County Ground, Swindon Game 298: Netherlands 0-0 England 27 October 2011 Euro Qualifier Zwolle Game 299: England 2-0 Serbia 23 November 2011 Euro Qualifier Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster Game 300: Finland 1-3 England 28 February 2012 Cyprus Cup Nicosia

Matches 301–350 (2012–2015) Game 301: Switzerland 0-1 England 1 March 2012 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 302: France 3-0 England 4 March 2012 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 303: Italy 3-1 England 6 March 2012 Cyprus Cup Paralimni Game 304: Croatia 0-6 England 31 March 2012 Euro Qualifier Vrbovec Game 305: England 1-0 Netherlands 17 June 2012 Euro Qualifier Salford City Stadium Game 306: Slovenia 0-4 England 21 June 2012 Euro Qualifier Velenje Game 307: England 3-0 Croatia  19 September 2012 Euro Qualifier Bescot Stadium, Walsall Game 308: France 2-2 England 20 October 2012 International Match Salford City Stadium Game 309: Italy 2-4 England 6 March 2013 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 310: Scotland 4-4 England 8 March 2013 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 311: New Zealand 1-3 England 11 March 2013 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 312: Canada 0-1 England 13 March 2013 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 313: England 1-0 Canada 7 April 2013 International Game Rotherham United Game 314: England 1-1 Japan 26 June 2013 International Game Pirelli Stadium, Burton Albion Game 315: Sweden 4-1 England 4 July 2013 International Game Ljungskile, Uddevalla Game 316: Spain 3-2 England 12 July 2013 EURO Finals Linkoping, Sweden

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APPENDIX B: OFFICIAL ENGLAND WOMEN’S SENIOR MATCHES 1972–2022

Game 317: Russia 1-1 England 15 July 2013 EURO Finals Linkoping, Sweden Game 318: France 3-0 England 18 July 2013 EURO Finals Linkoping, Sweden Game 319: England 6-0 Belarus 21 September 2013 World Cup Qualifier Dean Court, AFC Bournemouth Game 320: England 8-0 Turkey 26 September 2013 World Cup Qualifier Fratton Park, Portsmouth Game 321: England 2-0 Wales  26 October 2013 World Cup Qualifier The Den, Millwall Game 322: Turkey 0-4 England 31 October 2013 World Cup Qualifier Adana Game 323: Norway 1-1 England 17 January 2013 International Match Cartagena, La Manga, Spain Game 324: Italy 0-2 England 5 March 2014 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 325: Finland 0-3 England 7 March 2014 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 326: Canada 0-2 England 10 March 2014 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 327: France 2-0 England 12 March 2014 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 328: England 9-0 Montenegro 5 April 2014 World Cup Qualifier Amex Stadium, Brighton Game 329: England 4-0 Ukraine 8 May 2014 World Cup Qualifier Shrewsbury Town Game 330: Belarus 0-3 England 14 June 2014 World Cup Qualifier Minsk Game 331: Ukraine 1-2 England 19 June 2014 World Cup Qualifier Lviv Game 332: England 4-0 Sweden 3 August 2014 International Game Hartlepool United Game 333: Wales 4-0 England 21 August 2014 World Cup Qualifier Cardiff Game 334: Montenegro 0-10 England 17 September 2014 World Cup Qualifier Petrovac Game 335: England 0-3 Germany 21 November 2014 International Game Wembley Stadium Game 336: England 0-1 USA 13 February 2015 International Game Stadium MK, Milton Keynes Game 337: Finland 1-3 England 4 March 2015 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 338: Australia 0-3 England 6 March 2015 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 339: Netherlands 1-1 England 9 March 2015 Cyprus Cup Nicosia Game 340: Canada 0-1 England 11 March 2015 Cyprus Cup Larnaca Game 341: England 2-1 China 9 April 2015 International Game Academy Stadium, Manchester Game 342: Canada 1-0 England 29 May 2015 International Game Hamilton Game 343: France 1-0 England 9 June 2015 World Cup Finals Moncton Game 344: Mexico 1-2 England 13 June 2015 World Cup Finals Moncton Game 345: Colombia 1-2 England 17 June 2015 World Cup Finals Moncton Game 346: Norway 1-2 England 22 June 2015 World Cup last 16 Ottawa Game 347: Canada 1-2 England 17 June 2015 World Cup quarter-final Vancouver Game 348: Japan 2-1 England (AET) 1 July 2015 World Cup semi-final Edmonton

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155

Game 349: Germany 0-1 England 4 July 2015 World Cup third place play-off Edmonton Game 350: Estonia 0-8 England 21 September 2015 Euro Qualifier Tallinn

Matches 351–400 (2015–2019) Game 351: China 2-1 England 23 October 2015 Dewelbon Cup Yongchuan, China Game 352: Australia 0-1 England 27 October 2015 Dewelbon Cup Yongchuan, China Game 353: Germany 0-0 England 26 November 2015 International Game Duisberg Game 354: England 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina 29 November 2015 Euro Qualifier Ashton Gate, Bristol City Game 355: USA 1-0 England 4 March 2016 SheBelieves CupTampa Game 356: Germany 2-1 England 6 March 2016 SheBelieves Cup Nashville Game 357: France 0-0 England 9 March 2016 She Believes Cup Boca Raton Game 358: England 1-1 Belgium 8 April 2016 Euro Qualifier New York Stadium, Rotherham United Game 359: Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-1 England 12 April 2016 Euro Qualifier Zenica Game 360: England 7-0 Serbia 4 June 2016 Euro Qualifier Adams Park, Wycombe Game 361: Serbia 0-7 England 7 June 2016 Euro Qualifier Stara Pazova Game 362: England 5-0 Estonia 15 September 2016 Euro Qualifier Nottingham Game 363: Belgium 0-2 England 20 September 2016 Euro Qualifier Leuven Game 364: England 0-0 France 21 October 2016 International Game Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster Game 365: Spain 1-2 England 25 October 2016 International game Guadalajara Game 366: Netherlands 0-1 England 29 November 2016 International game Tilburg Game 367: Norway 1-0 England 22 January 2017 International game La Manga Game 368: Sweden 0-0 England 24 January 2017 International game Murcia Game 369: France 2-1 England 1 March 2017 SheBelieves Cup Chester, Pennsylvania Game 370: USA 0-1 England 4 March 2017 SheBelieves Cup New Jersey Game 371: Germany 1-0 England 7 March 2017 SheBelieves Cup RFK Stadium, Washington Game 372: England 1-1 Italy 7 April 2017 International Game Vale Park, Port Vale Game 373: England 3-0 Austria 10 April 2017 International Game Stadium MK, Milton Keynes Game 374: Switzerland 0-4 England 11 June 2017 International Game Biel

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APPENDIX B: OFFICIAL ENGLAND WOMEN’S SENIOR MATCHES 1972–2022

Game 375: Denmark 1-2 England 1 July 2017 International Game Copenhagen Game 376: Scotland 0-6 England 19 July 2017 EURO Finals Utrecht Game 377: Spain 0-2 England 23 July 2017 EURO Finals Breda Game 378: Portugal 1-2 England 27 July 2017 EURO Finals Tilburg Game 379: France 0-1 England 30 July 2017 EURO Finals quarter-final Deventer Game 380: Netherlands 3-0 England 3 August 2017 EURO Finals semi-final Enschede Game 381: England 6-0 Russia 19 September 2017 World Cup Qualifier Prenton Park, Tranmere Rovers Game 382: France 1-0 England 20 October 2017 International Game Valenciennes Game 383: England 4-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina 24 November 2017 World Cup Qualifier Bescot Stadium, Walsall Game 384: England 5-0 Kazakhstan 28 November 2017 World Cup Qualifier Colchester Community Stadium, Colchester United Game 385: France 1-4 England 1 March 2018 SheBelieves Cup Columbus, Ohio Game 386: Germany 2-2 England 4 March 2018 She Believes Cup Harrison, New Jersey Game 387: USA 1-0 England 7 March 2018 SheBelieves Cup Orlando, Florida Game 388: England 0-0 Wales 6 April 2018 World Cup Qualifier St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton Game 389: Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-2 England 10 April 2018 World Cup Qualifier Zenica Game 390: Russia 1-3 England 8 June 2018 World Cup Qualifier Moscow Game 391: Wales 0-3 England 31 August 2018 World Cup Qualifier Rodney Parade, Newport County Game 392: Kazakhstan 0-6 England 4 September 2018 World Cup Qualifier Pavlodar Game 393: England 1-0 Brazil 6 October 2018 International Game Meadow Lane, Notts County Game 394: England 1-1 Australia 9 October 2018 International Game Craven Cottage, Fulham Game 395: Austria 0-3 England 8 November 2018 International Game Vienna Game 396: England 0-2 Sweden 11 November 2018 International Game New York Stadium, Rotherham United Game 397: Brazil 1-2 England 27 February 2019 SheBelieves Cup Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game 398: USA 2-2 England 2 March 2019 SheBelieves Cup Nashville, Tennessee Game 399: Japan 0-3 England 5 March 2019 SheBelieves Cup Tampa, Florida Game 400: England 0-1 Canada 5 April 2019 International Game Academy Stadium, Manchester City

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157

Matches 401–448 (2019–2023) Game 401: England 2-1 Spain 9 April 2019 International Game County Ground, Swindon Town Game 402: England 2-0 Denmark 25 May 2019 International Game Bescot Stadium, Walsall Game 403: England 0-1 New Zealand 2 June 2019 International Game Amex Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion Game 404: Scotland 1-2 England 9 June 2019 World Cup Finals Nice, France Game 405: Argentina 0-1 England 14 June 2019 World Cup Finals Le Havre, France Game 406: Japan 0-2 England 19 June 2019 World Cup Finals Nice, France Game 407: Cameroon 0-3 England 23 June 2019 World Cup Finals round of 16 Valencienne, France Game 408: Norway 0-3 England 27 June 2019 World Cup Finals quarter-­final Le Havre, France Game 409: USA 2-1 England 2 July 2019 World Cup Finals semi-­ final Lyon, France Game 410: Sweden 2-1 England 6 July 2019 World Cup Finals third-place play off Nice, France Game 411: Belgium 3-3 England 28 August 2019 International Game Heverle Game 412: Norway 2-1 England 3 September 2019 International Game Bergen Game 413: England 1-2 Brazil 5 October 2019 International Game Riverside Stadium Game 414: Portugal 0-1 England 8 October 2019 International Game Setubal Game 415: England 1-2 Germany 9 November 2019 International Game Wembley Stadium Game 416: Czech Republic 2-3 England 12 November 2019 International Game Č eské Budějovice, Ostrov Game 417: USA 2-0 England 5 March 2020 SheBelieves Cup Orlando, Florida Game 418: Japan 0-1 England 8 March 2020 SheBelieves Cup Harrison, New Jersey Game 419: Spain 1-0 England 11 March 2020 SheBelieves Cup Frisco, Texas Game 420: England 6-0 Northern Ireland 23 February 2021 International Game St. George’s Park, Burton Game 421: France 3-1 England 9 April 2021 International Game Caen Game 422: England 0-2 Canada 13 April 2021 International Game Stoke City Game 423: England 8-0 North Macedonia 17 September 2021 World Cup Qualifier St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton Game 424: Luxembourg 0-10 England 21 September 2021 World Cup Qualifier Luxembourg Game 425: England 4-0 Northern Ireland 23 October 2021 World Cup Qualifier Wembley Stadium Game 426: Latvia 0-10 England 26 October 2021 World Cup Qualifier Riga

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APPENDIX B: OFFICIAL ENGLAND WOMEN’S SENIOR MATCHES 1972–2022

Game 427: England 1-0 Austria 27 November 2021 World Cup Qualifier Stadium of Light, Sunderland Game 428: England 20-0 Latvia 30 November 2021 World Cup Qualifier Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster Game 429: England 1-1 Canada 17 February 2022 Arnold Clark Cup Riverside Stadium Game 430: England 0-0 Spain 20 February 2022 Arnold Clark Cup Carrow Road, Norwich City Game 431: England 3-1 Germany 23 February 2022 Arnold Clark Cup Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers Game 432: North Macedonia 0-10 England 8 April 2022 World Cup Qualifier Proeski Arena, Skopje Game 433: Northern Ireland 0-5 England 12 April 2022 World Cup Qualifier Windsor Park, Belfast Game 434: England 3-0 Belgium 16 June 2022 International Game Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers Game 435: England 5-1 Netherlands 24 June 2022 International Game Elland Road, Leeds United Game 436: Switzerland 0-4 England 30 June 2022 International Game Letzigrund, Zurich Game 437: England 1-0 Austria 6 July 2022 Euro Finals Old Trafford, Manchester United Game 438: England 8-0 Norway 11 July 2022 Euro Finals Amex Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion Game 439: England 5-0 Northern Ireland 15 July 2022 Euro Finals St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton Game 440: England 2-1 Spain (AET)20 July 2022 Euro Finals quarter-­final Amex Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion Game 441: England 4-0 Sweden 26 July 2022 Euro Finals semi-final Bramall Lane, Sheffield United Game 442: England 2-1 Germany (AET) 31 July 2022 Euro Finals Final Wembley Stadium Game 443: Austria 0-2 England 3 September 2022 World Cup Qualifier Wiener Neustadt Game 444: England 10-0 Luxembourg 6 September 2022 World Cup Qualifier Stoke City FC Game 445: England 2-1 USA 7 October 2022 International Game Wembley Stadium Game 446: England 0-0 Czech Republic 11 October 2022 International Game Amex Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion Game 447: England 4-0 Japan 11 November 2022 International Game Pinatar Arena, Murcia Game 448: England 1-1 Norway 15 November 2022 International Game Pinatar Arena, Murcia

References

Archival Holdings Author’s collection of WFA, and FA materials, Vanessa Hardwick case, Theresa Bennett case 1969–2000. FIFA World Football Museum Archives and Library Zurich National Football Museum, Manchester and Archival Stores at Preston UEFA Archives Nyon The British Library WFA materials 1969–1992 Thomas Tranter Family Archive

Oral History Interviews Jeannie Allott, number 10 in England’s first-ever match and goal scorer, long-time England and Fodens winger, moved to Rotterdam to further her football career in the 1970s. Eniola Aluko Nigerian heritage, one of first African-British England women players, senior debut in 2004, 100+ caps, Olympian, broadcaster. Anita Asante, Ghanain heritage, one of the first African-British England women players, captaining U19s in 2002, senior debut 2004, Olympian. 50+ caps. Janet Bagguley, number 4 Macclesfield Ladies, Buxton midfielder in first official match in 1972. Deborah Bampton England captain at the 1995 Women’s World Cup in Sweden (England’s first qualification), coach, manager and 50+ caps. Samantha Britton Jamaican and British heritage, debuts for England June 1991 and key player at big tournaments such as Women’s World Cup 1995 in Sweden. 50+ caps. Sue Buckett player number 1 goalkeeper in first England team in 1972, long-time England player 30+ caps, long-time club player. Leah Caleb Harry Batt/Chiltern Valley Player 1970 onwards. John Carrier interview transcript with Sylvia Gore 8 July 2016 the number 8  in England’s first match in 1972 and first goal scorer for England (Sylvia now deceased). Pat Davies number 9 attacker in England’s first match in 1972, and long-time Southampton player. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 J. Williams, Legendary Lionesses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36760-1

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REFERENCES

Gill Coultard first woman to 100 caps, first amateur to 100 caps, and long-standing England captain. Kerry Davis first mixed heritage player, a Jamaican father and English mother, to play for England in September 1982, a leading goal scorer and 50+ caps. Patricia Dunn First WFA Chair 1969, one of the first qualified referees, went to Mexico with Harry Batt’s British Independents 1971, interview with niece Deborah Doyle. Mary Earps England and Manchester United Goalkeeper interview Rockcliffe Hall England Training Camp February 2022. Sandra Graham number 3, defender in first official match club side, Blackpool Seabirds. Patricia Gregory WFA Assistant Secretary 1969 onwards/toured Czechoslovakia with Harry Batt and Southern League team 1969. Linda Hale, number 7 attacking midfielder in England’s first match in 1972, prolific England and Southampton player, scored second goal in the first match. Morag Kirkland, number 2 defender in first England match in 1972, long-time England and Southampton player, now Pearce. Was youngest player in 1972, aged fifteen. Fran Kirby England and Chelsea Midfielder/Striker interview Rcokcliffe Hall England Training Camp February 2022. Christine Lockwood Harry Batt/Chiltern Valley Player 1970 onwards. Margaret ‘Paddy’ McGroarty player for Thame, Scottish but played as number 6  in England’s first match in 1972, now living in Australia. Beth Mead England and Arsenal Striker interview England training Camp Saint George’s Park August 2022. Sheila Parker number 5, first woman to captain England in 1972, and first mother to do so. Long-standing England squad player, and club player retiring in her 50s. Mary Phillip first Black-British player to captain England women in 2003, and now coaches men’s and women’s teams. Father from St Lucia and mother from Kerry, Ireland. 50+ appearances. Gill Sayell Harry Batt/Chiltern Valley/Aylesbury/Arsenal Player 1970 onwards. Carol Thomas first woman to fifty caps for England first capped 1975, second England captain 1976–1985. Sarina Wiegman England coach 2021–present Jean Wilson number 11 striker in first England match, Manchester Corinthians player. Susan Whyatt reserve goalkeeper, and Macclesfield player. Katie Zelem Manchester United captain and England Midfielder England Training Camp Rockcliffe Hall February 2022.

Ephemera and Contemporary Media Publications Anon. 'Ladies at football' Lancashire Daily Post 27 December 1917. Anon. ‘Une Joueuse Anglaise, Lyons, Shoote au Cours Du Martch Feminin Franco Anglais de Football’ Le Mirroir Des Sports 4 November 1920 p. 1 and p. 288. Anon. ‘War Time Football in Surrey Playing Fields’ The War Illustrated 21 July 1917 p. 489. Anon. ‘Women’s International: Dick, Kerr’s, The Women’s Soccer Side, Defeated The French Women’s Team 5-1 (Exclusive)’ The Daily Mirror 18 May 1921 p. 8. BBC News Rewind Archive ‘Women’s Football Scotland v England’ 18 November 1972 https://bbcrewind.co.uk/asset/627ba2119cbc5500212cb815?q=Engl and%20women%20football%20v%20Scotland%201972 accessed 7 December 2022.

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Contextual Literature Agini, Samuel ‘Women’s World Cup prize money triples but still lags behind men’s tournament’ The Financial Times 16 March 2023. Aluko, Eniola, with Josie Le Blond They Don't Teach This: lessons From the Game of Life (London: Vintage, 2019). Bishop, Matthew Louis and Andrew F. Cooper ‘The FIFA Scandal and the Distorted Influence of Small States’ Global Governance 24: 1 2018, 21-40. Conn, David The Fall of the House of Fifa: how the world of football became corrupt (London: Yellow Jersey Press, 2017). Davies, Pete I Lost My Heart to the Belles: story of the Doncaster Belles (London: Mandarin, 1997). Eastham, George Determined to Win: Arsenal FC and England (London: Stanley Paul, 1964). Elsey, Brenda and Josh Nadal Futbolera: A History of Women and Sports in Latin America (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2020). Etoe, Catherine, and Natalia Sollohub Three Lions on Her Shirt (London: The History Press, 2007). FIFA ‘Adriana Lima Named As FIFA Global Fan Ambassador https://www.fifa.com/ about-­fifa/organisation/news/adriana-­lima-­named-­as-­fifa-­global-­fan-­ambassador accessed 27 February 2023. FIFA World Football Museum FIFA Women’s World Cup Official History (London: Carlton, 2019). Football Association, ‘England Player Legacy and Results Archive’ https://www.englandfootball.com/england/womens-­senior-­team/Legacy?tab=Players accessed 8 December 2022. Gardner, Jamie ‘Fifa sets target of equal Women’s World Cup prize money by 2027’ The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/womens-­ world-­cup-­equal-­prize-­money-­men-­b2302271.html accessed 16 March 2023. Green, Geoffrey The History of the Football Association (London: The Naldrett Press, 1953). Greenblatt, Stephen Marvellous Possessions: The Wonder of the New World (Chicago University Press: Chicago, 1992). Hanley, David Women’s Football in Japan 1964-1991 (Ireland: Printset Design, 2021). Hayward, Paul England Football: The Biography 1872-2022 (London: Simon and Schuster, 2022). Imlach, Gary My Father And Other Working Class Football Heroes (London: Yellow Jersey, 2005). Ingle, Sean ‘FIFA could perform U-turn on Saudi sponsorship of Women’s World Cup’ The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/06/fifa-­u-­ turn-­saudi-­sponsorship-­womens-­world-­cup-­football-­australia accessed 6 March 2023. Kelner, Martha ‘Eni Aluko accuses FA of actions 'bordering on blackmail' as Glenn and co grilled – as it happened’ The Guardian 18 October 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2017/oct/18/fa-­c hiefs-­f ace-­ parliamentary-­inquiry-­over-­mark-­sampson-­investigations-­live accessed 12 March 2023. Kristeva, Julia (Translation) Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art (Columbia University Press: New York) 1980.

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Lopez, Sue Women on the Ball: a Guide to Women’s Football (London: Scarlett Press, 1997). Mason, Tony Association Football and English Society 1863-1915 (Brighton: Harvester, 1980). Mead, Beth Lioness: my journey to glory (London: Seven Dials, 2022). Mead, Beth ‘It’s OK not to be OK’ The Guardian https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=SC0ev_ess2s accessed 12 March 2023. Mead, Beth ‘You can't help who you fall in love with: Beth Mead opens up on her sexuality & football journey’ Sky Sports Football https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=FRtbG8iDCJA accessed 12 March 2023. Pannick, David Sex Discrimination in Sport  (London: Equal  Opportunities Commission, 1983). Powell, Hope and Marvin Close Hope: My Life in Football (London: Bloomsbury, 2016). Pitt-Brooke, Jack ‘Mark Sampson sacked as England manager by FA after past unprofessional relationship with players’ The Independent 20 September 2017 https://www. independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/mark-­sampson-­sacked-­england-­ manager-­fa-­unprofessional-­relationship-­players-­scandal-­a7958036.html accessed 10 March 2023. Rapinoe, Megan One Life (London and New York: Penguin Press, 2020). Ray, Siladitya ‘Fallout As FIFA Appoints Supermodel Adriana Lima As Fan Ambassador Of Women’s World Cup’ Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/03/02/fallout-­a s-­f ifa-­a ppoints-­s upermodel-­a driana-­l ima-­a s-­f an-­ ambassador-­of-­womens-­world-­cup/?sh=736fc6994b37 accessed 2 March 2023. Sangster, Joan ‘Telling our Stories: feminist debates and the use of oral history’ Women's History Review 3:1 pp. 5-28 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09612029400200046. Shakeshaft, Simon, Daren Burney and Neville Evans (eds) Three Lions on a Shirt: The Official History of the England Football Jersey (London: Vision Sports Publishing 2022). Smith, Kelly with Lance Hardy Footballer: my story (London: Corgi Books, 2013). Taylor, Daniel ‘Eni Aluko accuses England manager Mark Sampson of ‘racist’ Ebola remark’ The Guardian 21 August 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/aug/21/eni-­aluko-­england-­manager-­ mark-­sampson-­ebola accessed 8 March 2023. Taylor, Louise ‘Mary Earps’ Long Road From Phil Neville Reject to World’s Best No 1’ The Guardian 5 March 2023 h t t p s : / / w w w. t h e g u a r d i a n . c o m / f o o t b a l l / 2 0 2 3 / m a r / 0 5 / mary-­earps-­long-­road-­from-­phil-­neville-­reject-­to-­worlds-­best-­no-­1 The Supreme Court of Judicature Court of Appeal ‘Theresa Bennett v The Football Association and the Nottinghamshire Football Association 28 July 1978 Royal Court of Justice, London Plaint number 7800270 transcript. UEFA ‘UEFA Women's EURO 2022 financial distribution model explained’ https:// www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/026e-­1391c7c31fe0-­5162b5d7e881-­1000%2D% 2Duefa-­women-­s-­euro-­2022-­financial-­distribution-­model-­explained/ accessed 16 March 2023. Williams, Jean A Game For Rough Girls: the revival of women’s football in England 1960 to present (Oxon: Routledge, 2003). Williams, Jean A Beautiful Game: international comparisons (Oxford: Berg, 2007). Williams, Jean Globalising Women’s Football: Europe, Migration and Professionalization (Berlin: Peter Lang, 2013).

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Williams, Jean ‘The Gendered Governance of Association Football’ in Jennifer Hargreaves and Eric Andersen (eds) The Routledge Handbook of Sport, Gender and Sexuality (London: Routledge, 2014) 243. Williams, Jean A Contemporary History of Women’s Sport: Part One Sporting Women 1850-1960 (New York: Routledge Research, 2014). Williams, Jean A History of Women’s Football (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2021).

Index1

A Adams, John, 32, 38, 50, 54, 57 Adidas, 30, 96 Affiliated, 5, 6, 20, 25, 27–29, 31, 33, 67, 102 Agoraphobia, 56, 57 Aiken, Gladys, 24 Akers, Vic, 72, 127 A Licence, 95, 118–120 Allen, Paul, 119 Allott, Jeannie, 21, 31, 33, 36, 38, 45, 50–53, 59 Allott, Tommy, 51 Ally, allies, 7, 22 Altitude, 83 Aluko, Eniola, 121–125 Aluko, Sone, 122 Amateur, 5, 20, 23, 24, 28–30, 38, 57, 59, 67, 69, 75, 82, 93–95, 97, 102, 111, 116, 129 Angel City FC, 121 Ankle injury, 57 Archives, 12 Arnold Clark Cup, 132 Arsenal, 22, 34, 35, 66, 72, 93, 111–113, 116, 117, 127, 128 Asante, Anita, 113, 115, 125–127 Asian Cup, 77

Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC), 77 Aston Villa FC, 121, 126 Augustesen, Susanne, 93 Australia, Australian, 15, 32, 42, 62, 77, 106, 114, 134 AXA, 132 Aylesbury, 25, 34, 72 B Babycham, 62 Badrock, Elaine, 43, 46, 60, 62, 63 Bagguley, Janet, 33, 37–38, 54, 63 Ballon d’Or, 127 Bampton, Deborah, 62, 63, 69–104, 111, 112 Ban, 5, 19, 21, 25–28, 43, 44, 51, 57–60, 67, 72, 73, 108, 132 Banbury sportswear, 63 Banks, Angela, 114 Barr, Amanda, 114 Bath, Bath City FC, 54, 59 Batt, Harry, 24, 26–28, 36, 49, 58, 61, 62 Batt, June, 27, 28 Battle of Kenilworth Bog, 71 Begg, Sarah, 110

 Note: Page numbers followed by ‘n’ refer to notes.

1

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 J. Williams, Legendary Lionesses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36760-1

165

166 

INDEX

Belfast, 19, 85, 100 Bennett, Theresa, 63–65, 108 Best, George, 23, 34, 51, 54–57 Bilton, Flo, 24, 30, 39, 58, 61, 62, 66, 82, 93, 96, 97 Birmingham City, 25, 72, 122 Black-British, 99, 109, 113 Blackburn Rovers FC, 69, 101 Black Lives Matter, 125 Blackpool, 19, 33, 37, 38, 65 B Licence, 112, 119 Blundell, Hannah, 127 Blunkett, David, 64 Botswana, 60 Boyle, Catherine, 65 Brave, 5 Brazil, 74, 106, 115, 127, 128 Briggs, Joan, 27, 28, 49, 61 Brighton, 24, 97, 98, 115 Brightwell, Tony, 82 Bristol, 124, 133 British-African, 121–123 British Broadcasting Commission (BBC), 28, 52, 91, 105, 117 British Empire Medal, 62, 92 British Independents FC, 28 British Ladies Football Club (BLFC), 12, 13 British-Nigerian, 122 British Oil and Cocoa Mills (BOCM), 61 Britton, Samantha ‘Sammy,’ 96, 99, 109, 111 Bronze, Lucy, 130, 132 Brown, Rachel, 112 Brumwell, Pauline, 61 Brunton, Lauren, 127 Bruton, Jenny, 24, 39, 66 Bruton, John, 39, 66 Buckett, Sue, 33–35, 41, 42, 54, 63 Buckley, Pru, 114 Businessmen, business, 14–16, 22, 34, 35, 70, 76, 101, 131, 133 Butlins, 25, 26, 63 C Caleb, Leah, 132 Canada, 106, 114, 115, 124 Caps, 8, 11, 15, 22, 23, 32, 35, 37, 44, 45, 49, 53, 55, 58, 61, 62, 66, 74,

76, 81, 91, 92, 94–100, 102, 107, 114, 115, 120–123, 125, 127, 129 Captain, captaincy, 13, 16, 17, 23, 32, 33, 36–39, 60–63, 66, 69, 71, 74, 76, 80, 81, 83, 84, 88, 91, 94, 96–99, 105, 106, 113–115, 117, 120, 123, 130 Caribbean, 69, 99, 109 Carmaine, Walker, 115 Carney, Karen, 117, 122, 128 Carr, Dorothy, 39, 66 Carr, Mary, 31, 32 Carter, Hilary, 43, 57 Cassell, Dot, 50, 99 Cavanagh, Pat, 58 Central Council of Physical Recreation (the CCPR), 24, 74 Centurion, centurions, 95, 115, 117, 128 Chan, Veronica, 76, 77 Channel 4, 67, 73 Chapman, Pat ‘Vesuvia,’ 39, 42, 63, 66, 67, 85, 87, 100 Charlton, Bobby, 51, 93, 102 Charlton Athletic, 88, 122 Chelsea, 17, 122, 126 Chiltern Valley LFC, 27 China, 9, 96, 105–107, 115, 117, 124 Choat, Sandra, 60 Clarke, Jess, 115 Clement, Allie, 72 Coach co-ordinator, 123 Coaching, coach, 2, 5, 14, 21, 22, 27, 29, 30, 32, 35, 37, 43, 46, 50, 54, 55, 58, 60–62, 67, 69, 71, 72, 74, 77, 82, 86, 94, 95, 98, 99, 101, 105–107, 110–120, 122–131, 133 Cockburn, Michelle, 95 Coffin, Linda, 62, 78, 79 Connectivity, 23, 75 Cook, Elsie, 31, 32, 50 Copeland, Ted, 67, 94, 98, 99, 102, 105–108, 112, 114, 118 Cossington, Kay, 2, 8, 129 Coultard, Gill, 44, 69–104, 106, 110, 111 Cowie, Charlotte, 129 Croydon, 93, 94, 101, 110 Crusade, 5 Crystal Palace, 9, 50, 58, 61

 INDEX 

Cuddington, 72 Cultural studies, culture, 5, 22, 23, 103, 119, 124 Cup, cup football, 6, 7, 28–30, 32, 40, 49, 50, 58–60, 62, 92–94, 96, 99, 100, 102, 104–108, 111, 113, 114, 117, 118, 120, 124, 129, 132 Curley, Michelle, 72, 110 Cyprus Cup, 124 Czechoslovakia, 23, 26 D Daily Express, Daily Express five a sides, 29, 74 Daly, Rachel, 127 Davies, Pat, 33, 42, 43, 45, 49–50, 52–54, 59, 60, 63 Davis, Kerry, 69–104, 108–110, 132 Day, Debbie, 63 de Reus. Hestine, 130 Deal, deal tournament, 9, 13, 22, 23, 25, 26, 41, 50, 53, 57, 58, 63, 91, 105, 132, 133 Deepdale, 16, 17, 91 Deighan, Liz, 48, 52, 60, 78, 79, 85, 96, 109, 110 Dell, The Southampton, 63 Denmark, Danish, the Danes, 35, 36, 48, 56, 66, 67, 70, 75, 78–80, 83, 86, 87, 93, 100, 101, 110 Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), 125 Despar Trani, 92, 94 Dickie, Pauline, 61 Doe, Tracy, 75, 78, 79, 84 Doncaster Belles, Doncaser Rover’s Belles, 58, 62, 63, 70, 73, 93, 95, 98, 112, 133 Dover GPO, 23, 58 Dowie, Natasha, 118 Duggan, Toni, 127 Dunn, Patricia, 24, 26 E Earps, Mary, 1, 130, 133 East Yorkshire, 58 Ebben, Roger, 58 Empire Pool Wembley, 48, 57, 74

167

England, 1–21, 69–105, 121 Ephemera, 5 Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), 64, 108 Equal, equality, equal pay, 4, 6, 7, 73, 96, 119, 127, 131, 133 Europe, 9, 78, 83, 88 Evans, Martin, 129 Everitt, Kath, 61 Exclusion, 20, 65, 132 Exley, Vicky, 114 F Fandom, 2, 102, 103, 134 Father, 41–43, 54, 66, 103, 109, 116 Al-Fayed, Mohamed, 73, 114 Fédération Internationale Européenne de Football Féminine (FIEFF), 27, 28, 62 Federation of Independent European Female Football (FIEFF), 27, 28, 62 Feminist praxis, feminism, feminist methodology, 2, 3, 24 FIFA, FIFA best awards, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 19, 20, 28, 47, 57, 59, 62, 69, 70, 77, 78, 106, 107, 115, 122, 131, 133 FIFPro, 127 Finance, financial, financially, 5–7, 17, 26, 29, 30, 32, 47, 48, 58, 62, 67, 73, 77, 82, 102, 119, 120, 122 Finland, 39, 47, 66, 96, 124 Finney, Sir Tom, 91 First Division Ground, Grounds, 63, 93 Firth, Pat, 50, 54, 55, 59, 62, 63, 85 Fletcher, Julie, 114 Foden’s, Foden’s Sandbach, 25, 31, 33, 38, 44, 45, 50–52, 54, 55, 58 Fogarty, Julie, 95 Follows, Denis, 62 Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), 113 The Football Association (FA), 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 67, 78, 130 Football Association (FA) Women’s Cup, 72, 123 Football Association (FA) Women’s Premier League, 72, 116, 123 Football Association (FA) Women’s Premier League Cup, 72

168 

INDEX

Football League, 5, 12, 19, 22, 31, 41, 45, 59, 71, 73, 75, 93, 102 Football suffragette, 32 Football Trust, 102, 131 Foreman, Eileen, 33, 53–56, 59, 63, 78, 79 Formiga, 4 France, French, 7, 15–18, 25, 27, 35, 36, 38, 39, 47, 50, 52, 53, 56–58, 60, 61, 63, 74, 75, 86, 115, 117, 118, 124, 125, 128–130 Friendlies, 8, 54, 112, 116 Friends of Fulham, 74, 111 Fulham FC, 73, 114 G Gabarra, Jim, 126 Gale, Karen, 67 Gallimore, Anglea, 78, 79, 96, 109 Geoffroy, Pierre, 47, 58 George, Gabrielle, 127 Germany, 8, 44, 86, 96, 98, 99, 105–107, 114, 115, 117, 123, 124, 130, 133 Ghana, Ghananian, 126 Give voice, 3 Globalisation, 1 Gore, Sylvia, 21, 31, 33, 37, 38, 43–52, 54, 59, 63 Governance, 2, 6, 70, 106 Graham, Sandra, 33, 37 Gregory, Pat, 24, 29, 32, 58, 82, 93 Gregory’s Girl, 74 Griffith, Eleri, 45 Griffith, Mai, 45, 46 Grounds, 10, 13–16, 18, 19, 21, 31, 36, 38, 41, 42, 44, 56, 59, 60, 62, 71, 74, 84–87, 89, 90, 100, 103 Gwynne, Pat, 24, 26, 58 H Hadden, Raynor, 63 Hale, Lynda, 31, 33, 42–43, 45, 49, 51, 54, 59, 63 Hall of Fame, 62 Hamm, Mia, 4, 129 Hand-made, 62 Hanley, David, 76, 78

Hanson, Lorraine, 85, 87 Harassment, 124 Hardwick, Vanessa, 118–120 Hayes, Kate, 37 Hazelwood, Charles, 5 Hennessy, Annabel, 82 Hidden, 5 Hills, Brent, 123 Hjorring, Hjorring stadium, 86, 87 Hobbs, Arthur, 23, 24, 26–28, 58 Home International Championship, 39, 62, 63, 84 Honeyball, Nettie, 13, 14 Houghton, Janie, 31, 52 Houghton, Steph, 128 Howbury Grange, 74, 92 Hughes, Jo, 65 Hull, 58, 61 Humble, 5 Humidity, 82, 83 Hunter, Jean (née Stewart), 51 Hurst, Geoff, 55, 56, 97 Hutchinson, Christine, 78 I Iceland, 60, 97, 98, 110, 114 Inclusion, 3, 20, 81, 127 Indonesia, 29, 77 Infantino, Gianni, 4, 7 Injustice, 5 Inquiry, inquiries, 125 International Football Association Board (IFAB), 19 Internationalization, international, internationals, 1, 4, 8–10, 13, 16–19, 21, 23–25, 27, 28, 31, 36, 38, 39, 44, 45, 47, 50, 52–54, 56–60, 67, 70, 75–77, 81, 84, 85, 91, 95–97, 99, 101, 102, 108, 111, 114, 115, 118, 120, 122–124, 126–129 Ireland, Republic of, 56, 57, 70, 75, 78, 85, 96, 100 Irvine, Terry, 78 Italy, 27, 28, 32, 35, 36, 39, 43, 44, 47–49, 57, 59, 63, 66, 69, 70, 74, 75, 78–81, 83, 84, 86, 88, 92, 94, 96, 97, 99–101, 104, 107, 114, 116

 INDEX 

169

J James, Lauren, 8 Jameson, Sheree, 67 Japan, Japanese, 53, 57, 69, 76–83, 86, 93, 106, 117, 128 Jaycocks, June, 24, 58, 93, 96, 97 Jevons, Helen, 95

London, 12, 13, 17, 23, 25, 34, 37, 52, 60, 63, 89, 90, 107, 109, 126 London cup, 120 Lopez, Sue, 24, 34, 41–45, 49, 54, 59–61, 66, 67, 95, 99, 118 Lowestoft, 53, 56, 62, 92 Luton Town, 71, 89, 90, 100

K Kelly, Chloe, 127, 132 Kelly, Graham, 64 Kelman, Jim, 118, 119 KFC ‘71, 52, 129 Kidd, Linda (née Mellon), 31 Kiddell, Ray, 131 Kirby, Fran, 127 Kirkland, Morag (now Pearce), 33, 36, 54 KNVB, 129, 130 Kobe, 77, 78, 82 Kyoto, 78

M Maidstone, 92 Major, John, 65, 103 Malaya, 76 Manchester City, 37, 45, 49 Manchester Corinthians, 23, 25, 29, 31, 33, 43, 50, 53, 58, 74 Manchester United, 125, 128, 133 Manning, Julia, 33, 53–56, 59 Marginal, marginalised, marginal space, 22, 73, 103 Marley, Maureen ‘Mo, 99, 112 Marta, 126 Martini & Rossi, 63, 93 May, Alan, 108, 112 McCune, Carol (now Thomas), 60–62 McDermott, John, 118, 119 McGroarty, Paddy, 33, 40–42, 54, 59 Mead, Beth, 6, 127, 128, 130, 132 Medical, 6, 19, 95 Mehta, Ritan, 129 Methodology, 2–9 Mexico, 107, 117 Migration, 108 Miks, Maggie (now Hobson), 53–55, 57 Milwall, Milwall Lionesses, 92 Minute books, 3, 30 Misogyny, 5 Mitre, 29, 39, 63 Mitre, Mitre Cup, 46, 50, 58, 59 Mixed football, 57, 64 Model, supermodel, 2, 4, 15, 16, 73, 116, 128 Moët & Chandon, 60 Money, 6, 7, 14, 16, 19, 21, 24, 28–30, 44, 47, 48, 52, 77, 93, 97, 131, 133 Moore, Kim, 67, 118 Morace, Carolina, 78–80, 96, 101, 116 Morgan, Esme, 8 Mundialito, 75, 81, 90, 91, 93, 100, 101

L Labour, 11, 22, 26 Lady Florence Dixie, 13, 14 Landström, Jessica, 126 Language, 3, 27 Laws of the Game, 9, 47, 61 LdB FC Malmö, 126 Le Tissier, Maya, 8 Leadership, 2, 12, 69–80, 97, 102, 107, 121, 125 Leatherbarrow, Alison, 45, 46, 50, 60 Lee, Sammy, 119 Legacy, 1, 8, 35, 37, 40, 49, 56, 97, 99, 121, 133 Leicester City FC, 69, 75 Lewes, 94 Lilly, Kristine, 129 Lillymann, Eileen, 93 Lillywhites, 29, 30 Lima, Adrian, 4 Liminal, 22 Lindsay, Tina, 138 Lingerie, 4 Lockwood, Chris, 132 Logistical rebellion, 22

170 

INDEX

Murdochisation, 67 Murphy, Colin, 67, 118 Murphy, Danielle, 112 Muskham, Muskham School, 64 N National Football Museum, 3, 9, 12, 43, 62 National, nationalism, nationalist, 1, 6–8, 12, 15, 18, 23, 28–32, 41, 43, 46–48, 51–54, 58, 69, 70, 76–78, 82, 85, 88, 91, 93, 101–107, 110–113, 115–117, 119, 123, 126, 128–132 Nationwide Building Society, 40, 132 Netherlands, 25, 26, 35, 38, 39, 41, 47, 50–53, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 107, 124, 129, 130 Neville, Phil, 2, 125–129, 132, 133 Newark County Court, 64 Newark Youth League, 64 Newsletters, 3, 70 Newsome, Olive, 24 Newstead, Lou, 137 New Zealand, 51, 77, 93, 115, 117 Nigeria, 99, 106, 107, 122 North Carolina, 129 Northern Dairies, 62 Northern Ireland, 36, 38, 39, 48, 54, 56, 59, 84, 85, 94, 100, 101 North Macedonia, 129 North, Northern, 13, 25, 30, 33, 58, 60, 62, 81, 87, 95, 98 Norway, Norwegian, 57, 80, 83, 96, 99, 106, 107, 114, 124, 128 Nottinghamshire County FA, 64 Nwajei, Una, 114, 115 O Objective, objectivity, 3 O’Brien, Ann, 59, 99, 101 Official, 1, 8, 9, 19–67, 70, 71, 76, 77, 79, 82, 84, 86, 90, 97, 106, 108 Olympian, 106, 122 Olympic, Olympics, Olympic Games, 54, 61, 75, 95, 106, 115, 122, 123, 127–129 Oral history, oral history interviews, oral history sources, 2, 3, 21, 38, 69

Other, 5, 9, 15, 16, 19, 42, 49, 54, 55, 59, 113 Overbeck, Carla, 129 Owen, Wendy, 33, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53–55, 61, 63 P Pannick, David QC, 65 Paraorchestra, 5 Park, Jess, 1, 8 Parker, Sheila, 33, 38–40, 50, 54, 60, 61, 63, 66, 78, 79, 85, 130 Parris, Nikita, 124, 125 Pauw, Vera, 130 Peckham, 112, 113, 120 Peripatetic, 5 Philip, Mary, 128 Physiotherapist, 30, 62, 101, 107 Pitches, 5, 6, 19, 22, 31, 32, 44, 54, 60, 72, 76, 77, 89 Pollard, Sara, 66 Pontins, Pontins Ltd, Sir Fred Pontin, 63 Pony Wine, 39, 62 Poppy, Angela, 62 Portopia, 57, 70, 77, 81, 84 Powell, Hope, 30, 74, 85, 95, 99, 100, 102, 105–120, 122, 123 Powell, Ted, 67 President, 7, 13, 14, 24, 25, 77 Prestatyn, 46, 62 Preston, Preston North End, 16, 18, 40, 45, 62 Prize money, prize pot, 4, 6, 7 Professionalization, 1, 28, 95, 107, 132 Profit and loss sheets, 3 Progress, 6–8, 13, 48, 77, 88, 112, 131 Prohibition, 15, 22, 25, 59 Q Queens Park Rangers (QPR), 29, 41, 42, 50, 58 R Radical, 2, 6 Rafferty, Claire, 117 Rambaudi, Marco, 27 Ravenscraig Stadium, 31, 45

 INDEX 

Rawding, Mike, 67 Reagan, Martin, 38, 69–104, 106, 109 Reagan, Ronald, 76 Reaganomics, 76 Reckitt and Coleman, 61 Referee, 18, 25, 26, 29, 31, 32, 40, 46, 51, 54, 66, 74, 96 Regional Training Centre/s, 111 Reilly, Rose, 31, 32, 51, 52, 59, 92, 94, 99, 101 Republic of Ireland, 19, 56, 57, 70, 75, 78, 85, 100 Reunion, 8, 43, 50 Reynolds, Maureen, 78 Riise, Heige, 128 Robinson, Katie, 8 Roebuck, Ellie, 127 Rose Bowl Stadium, 107, 122 Rowntrees of York, 62 Russell, Robin, 67, 112, 118 Russia, 7, 15, 94, 117, 124 S St. Helens, 40, 46, 51–52, 58, 74, 75 Saint Louis Athletica, 122, 126 Sampson, Mark, 118, 121–134 Sanderson, Lianne, 115, 124, 125 Sawa, 126 Sayell, Gill, 41, 72, 72n3, 132 Schmidt Hansen, Lone, 93 School, school football, 9, 12, 21, 36–38, 42, 43, 49, 51, 56, 63–66, 78, 79, 92, 93, 95, 108–110, 113, 116, 126, 128, 133 Scotland, 9–11, 14, 18, 21, 23, 28, 29, 31, 32, 35–41, 43–45, 47, 48, 50–58, 62, 63, 84, 85, 91, 92, 96, 97, 99–101, 110, 114 Sempare, Brenda, 74, 85, 94, 102, 108–110 Serie A, 93, 94 Seton Hall Pirates, 116 Sex Discrimination Act 1975, 64 Shakes, Roschelle, 126 Sharifah Rodziah, Tun, 76, 77 She Believes Cup, 125, 128 Shimizu Daihachi Sports Club, 78 Shropshire, 60 Simmons, Kelly, 95, 112

171

Sims, John, 66 Size 4 ball, 84, 89 Sjögran, Therese, 126 Sky Blue FC New Jersey, 122, 126 Smith, Donna, 111 Smith, Kelly, 8, 99, 105–120 South, 5, 13, 30, 41 Southampton, Southampton, 24, 25, 28, 29, 33–36, 38, 41–43, 45, 49, 50, 52, 58, 62, 63, 73, 74, 93 Southgate, Gareth, 2, 8, 128, 132 Spacey, Marieanne, 74, 75, 99, 101, 102, 106, 110, 111, 123 Spain, 15, 93, 98, 121 Spence, Drew, 125 Sports Council, 31, 59, 95 Squad, 2, 8, 15–17, 30–33, 35, 37, 38, 40, 43, 47, 48, 52, 55–57, 60, 62, 63, 65, 66, 71, 72, 76, 78, 81–83, 85–91, 94, 96, 97, 99, 100, 105, 106, 109–112, 114, 122–125, 127, 128, 130–134 Staniforth, Lucy, 127 Stanway, Georgia, 127 Stearn, Tim, 67 Stewarton and Thistle, 25, 50, 58 Stokes, Demi, 125 Stoney, Casey, 113, 117, 120 Stuby, Pierre, 27 Subculture, 3, 5 Subjective, subjectivity, 3 The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards, 75 Sundhage, Pia, 93, 100 Sweden, 35, 36, 38, 39, 47, 50, 60, 66, 67, 69–71, 73, 75, 78, 81, 83, 84, 86–89, 92–94, 96, 99–101, 106, 107, 110–112, 114, 117, 124, 126, 128 Switzerland, 35, 38, 39, 47, 53, 56, 57, 60, 61, 63, 66, 99 Symbols, symbolism, 3, 4 T Ta, Sheuneen, 126 Takatsuki, 78 Talbot, Jane, 39, 61, 62, 66 Taylor, Jodie, 124 Team GB, 106, 107, 115, 122, 127–129

172 

INDEX

Thai, 58 Thame, 33, 40, 41, 54, 63, 72, 82 Thatcher, Margaret, 67, 71, 76, 103 Tokyo, 77, 78, 80, 83, 128 Tranter, Tommy, 38, 39, 50, 54, 60–62, 66, 93 Twose, Geraint, 129 U Ubogagu, Chioma, 127 UEFA, 3, 7, 20, 28, 31, 36, 40, 47, 48, 57, 67, 69, 70, 72, 84, 88, 90, 91, 94, 100, 119, 129, 130 UEFA Competition For National Representative Women’s Teams, 1984, 69, 70, 88 UEFA Women’s Euros, 67, 100, 129 Ullevi stadium, 60, 88 Umbro, 30, 112 Under/under 9/under 12/under 14/ under 16/under 18, 5, 19, 21, 24, 34–36, 38, 59, 62, 64, 65, 67, 70, 75, 102, 107 Unfair dismissal, 125 Un-Lioness beahviour, 121–125 Unofficial, 9, 21–67, 76, 78, 81, 84, 132 Unregulated, 5, 9, 21, 22 USA, US, 6, 8, 28, 34–36, 40, 43, 51, 75, 76, 94, 95, 101, 105–108, 112, 114–118, 121, 122, 126, 128, 129, 133 V Van der Laan, Arjan, 130 Van Ginhoven, Anya, 129 Vignotto, Elisabetta ‘Betty,’ 78–80 Visit Saudi, 4 Volunteer, volunteers, 5, 56, 57, 65, 69, 91 W Wade, Alan, 54 Wahl, Grant, 6 Wales, 14, 18, 19, 35, 38, 39, 41, 45–48, 50, 56, 57, 59, 62, 63, 74, 75, 93, 94, 100, 100n14, 108, 123, 124

Walker, Karen ‘Kaz,’ 102, 106, 107, 110, 114 Waller, Lou, 99, 114 Wambach, Abby, 126 Warburton, Peter, 39, 66 Ward, Darren, 129 Warminster, 33, 45, 75, 93 Washington Freedom, 126 Wembley, Wembley Stadium, 2, 7, 8, 28, 29, 31, 32, 35–37, 40, 42, 43, 48–50, 55, 56, 71, 74, 75, 81, 86, 89, 90, 94, 96, 115, 116, 124, 131, 132 Westhorn United, 25 WFA Cup, 29, 38, 40, 41, 45, 70, 73, 74, 92, 93 Wheatley, Clare, 127 White, Ellen, 66, 130 White, Faye, 114, 117 Whitehawk FC, 94 Whitehead, Linda, 67, 69, 93 Whitworth, Margaret ‘Whitty,’ 33, 44 Whyatt, Sue, 37, 51, 55–57 Wiegman, Sarina, 2, 8, 52, 129, 129n11, 130, 132, 133 Wilkinson, Howard, 131 Williams, Fara, 8, 124, 133 Williamson, Leah, 127, 130 Wilson, Jean, 33, 37, 53, 54 Wimbledon, 39, 60, 61 Winner, 7, 40, 41, 45, 48, 50, 60, 66, 70, 77, 83, 85, 87, 88, 91, 93, 97, 101, 106, 113, 121 Wiseman, Theresa, 96 Women’s Cricket Association (WCA), 60 Women’s Euros, 1, 7, 28, 43, 50, 67, 92, 100, 105, 107, 117, 129, 130, 133 Women’s FA Premier League, 122 Women’s Football Association (WFA), 3, 5, 12, 20, 21, 23–31, 24n5, 24n6, 33, 37–39, 42, 45, 48–52, 54, 57–59, 61, 63, 64, 67, 69–80, 82, 83, 85, 86, 90, 91, 93–98, 100, 100n14, 102, 109, 111, 112, 131, 132 Women’s Football Committee, 48, 70, 131 Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPS), 122, 126

 INDEX 

Women’s Super League (WSL), 73, 108, 115, 122, 123, 126, 132 Women’s World Cup, World Cup, 1, 4, 7, 27, 28, 30, 32, 49, 50, 58–62, 69, 75, 80, 81, 92, 94–100, 102, 104–107, 110–112, 114, 115, 117, 118, 122, 124, 127–129, 133, 134 Worthington, Eric, 21, 29, 31, 32, 37, 38, 41, 45, 50, 54

173

Y Yallop, Richard, 62 Yankey, Rachel, 95, 102, 114, 115, 117, 127 Youth Training Scheme (YTS), 72, 119 Z Zwart-Wit ‘28, 52