4 Things You Should Know About Female Football

Introduction

European football (soccer) is mainly thought to be a men's game. Unfortunately, female football is nowhere near as popular as the male version. Female football was earlier encouraged only as something done for charity or physical exercise, but things changed in the 1970s, when the first major breakthrough for female football occurred. After that, things changed, and football is the most popular female sport in a few countries and also one of the few games where women have formed professional leagues.

You would perhaps be surprised to know that the first time female football really caught the attention of the public, drawing a crowd of some fifty thousand spectators, was in the 1920s in England. However, the English Football Association, in 1921, banned female football from the grounds where its members played. It was not until the year 1971 that this ban was lifted.

The FIFA Women's World Cup, which is governed by the FIFA, holds competitions at the U-17, U-20 and Women's level. The Algarve Cup, held in the Algarve region of Portugal from which it draws its name, was first played in the year 1994, and is held to be a very prestigious female football competition. It is invitational in nature, with twelve teams being invited to play, and eight of them going on to play in the further rounds of the competition. The Cyprus Cup, though newly established (it has only been played since the year 2008), is also respected when in comes to female football. You would perhaps be surprised to know that though the tournament is held in Cyprus, Cyprus has not yet taken part in it.

 

Female football can also be appreciated in other competitions that sweep a large geographical area and in which many regional teams participate. There are female football competitions held at the continental level in Europe. 

In case you are wondering about which country tops the ranking when it comes to female football, here is the current list for you: the country of America tops the charts, followed by Germany, Japan, Brazil and Sweden. The rankings are based on every game that a female football team has ever played, as far back as the year 1971. This was when the first FIFA-recognized female football game was played at the international level between France and the Netherlands. It is also interesting to see how it has always been the country of America and Germany that have topped the rankings.

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