Women’s World Cup has come a long way but misogyny is still not beaten | Sean Ingle


While much progress has been made in recent decades today’s female coaches can still recount grim tales of sexism

Here is something I was unaware of until recently. When England took part in the second unofficial women’s World Cup in Mexico in 1971, they played in front of crowds of 80,000 and 100,000. More staggeringly still, their squad included two 16-year-olds, a 15-year‑old and two 14-year-olds. In some ways the tournament was 50 years ahead of its time. But even as England’s players were enjoying the greatest moment of their careers they knew it was an oasis.

Two interviews with England players in 1971, dug up by the academics Claire and Keith Brewster in the latest issue of History in Sport, illustrate that bluntly. “I never thought I’d be a professional footballer and play for my country,” one tells the Mexican paper Excelsior. “They don’t like women’s football [in England]. Everyone criticises us. They think that football is for men and has nothing to do with us”.

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