A LEGACY STARTED LONG AGO

Published: 11/08/2025, Written by: Tora Northman

Long before the sold-out stadiums, the viral goal celebrations, and the headlines finally giving women’s football the attention it deserves, there was already a rich, complicated, and incredible story unfolding. From its origins to the setbacks, triumphs, and the sport’s future, Players’ Digital Director – and lifelong footballer – Tora Northman unpacks that very story in this article.

Women have been playing football for over a century – and not in silence. During wartime, stadiums were filled to the brim, and women have always approached the sport with both heart and skill. But in 1921 when football was finally gaining momentum, the FA stepped in and banned women from using official pitches – a detrimental decision that set the game back for years.

Now, in 2025, we’ve just witnessed history as the Lionesses claimed their second consecutive European title in Switzerland. As the celebrations begin to calm down and players start preparing for the upcoming season, it's the perfect time to look back at how we got here.

This legacy didn’t start with one big tournament or one player, it was built on community, and through women who refused to be told that they didn’t belong on the pitch. Today’s celebration wouldn’t be possible without the women that fought for their rights, and all the players that continue doing the same, even today, many decades later.

The first-ever recorded women’s football match took place in 1881 between teams from Scotland and England, but the sport has been around for longer than most realise. While the men’s game had already been established by the late 1800s, women we’re often playing informally in schools, public parks and at work.

During World War I, the sport started gaining momentum. Women had to step into traditionally male jobs whilst the men were away fighting, and eventually, they also stepped onto the football pitch.

Founded in Preston, Lancashire, the Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. is one of the earliest known women’s football teams in England. Playing for nearly 50 years, the team brought attendees from all over the country together, making history in 1920 when they drew a crowd of 53,000 spectators at Goodison Park for a fundraiser for the Unemployed Ex Servicemen’s Distress Fund.

Then a year later, the FA decided to ban the women’s game.

THE FA BAN

When the support was receiving fierce support and exciting growth, the FA made the decision to ban women from playing the sport on FA-affiliated grounds in 1921, claiming that football was “unsuitable for females.” Although it wasn’t able to ban the game entirely, it made it much more difficult for women to play. Plenty of other countries followed suit and imposed their own bans, pushing the sport back by decades.

It seems crazy to think that the ban wasn’t lifted until 1971, 50 years later.

Despite the evident setback, women all over the world continued to play, and communities began forming. Once the ban was lifted, women had to keep fighting for resources and recognition – something that unfortunately still holds true to this day.

Because of the stigma around the sport, many female players struggled to find investment and support, as the cultural conversation around women’s football didn’t change despite the ban being lifted. It took years of fighting to gain recognition, and as national teams began forming, and international tournaments opened more doors, the sport finally saw growth again.

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

In 1999, USA won the Women’s World Cup in front of 90,000 spectators at the Rose Bowl. The USA team still remains the most successful women’s national team in the history of the tournament, having collected four titles, winning in 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019.

The USA has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to women’s football – perhaps because their men’s team has never performed very well – and has continued to put resources towards growing the game.

In 2012, the Olympics famously took place in London, where the USA claimed another gold medal in women’s football. The event was broadcasted around the world with plenty of viewers and began bringing the sport into the public eye. We saw iconic players like Megan Rapinoe, Kelley Ohara, Abby Wambach, Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan and Hope Solo becoming role models for young players everywhere, and the conversation grew louder.

In 2019, the Women’s World Cup took place in France with a record-breaking viewership of a combined 1.12 billion viewers tuning into official broadcast coverage of the tournament. 260 million viewers watched the nail-biting final between the USA and The Netherlands, and in this tournament, Sweden played England for third place, in which the former took home the bronze. For me, this was one of the most exciting tournaments in women’s football – and I can’t wait for this summer to bring the same energy.

The USA Women’s team also changed the game within the fashion space, wearing custom Nike suits designed by Martine Rose at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

In 2022, 91,553 fans showed up at Camp Nou to support FC Barcelona’s women’s team against Real Madrid, setting a new record for attendance at a women’s football game since the Rose Bowl game in 1999.

It was a great year for football, as the 2022 Euros also acted as the catalyst for the women’s football we know and love today. I don’t think anyone missed it, but of course, England took home the gold, beating Germany 2-1 in the final.

I remember being at Wembley, entering the stadium and feeling euphoric – my eyes were tearing up seeing it filled to the brim, and hearing all the fans supporting their teams. I’m neither German, nor English, but having lived in London for the past couple of years, I obviously was cheering for the Lionesses loudly and proudly.

Ella Toone scored a beautiful goal at the start of the second half, and Germany countered with a goal less than 10 minutes later. It looked like the game was going to go into penalties – something that never bodes well for a team in the final (remember the men’s team at the Euros?) – until a miracle happened. Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal in the 110th minute, and proceeded to take her top off and create one of today’s most iconic goal celebrations (and an iconic Nike ad, at the same time.)

Throughout the tournament, we had already seen some absolute screamers that made the rounds across social media. In the semi-final, Alessia Russo scored a 10/10 backheel goal against Sweden (as a Sweden fan, it broke my heart) that might be one of the best in history.

It didn’t matter if you’d never paid attention to women’s football before – England had won the Euros. The whole country celebrated, and the massive effort from the Lionesses not only brought home the trophy, but it also set the tone for the women’s game.

The tournament also highted some iconic players, including Ellen White, who finished off her career starting all six games, and scoring two goals – with her iconic celebration also going down in history.

In the 2023 World Cup, the Lionesses made it through all the way to the finals, thanks to Chloe Kelly’s winning penalty against Nigeria where she also sat the record for the fastest shot in the Women’s World Cup so far, at 110.79km/h – beating the 2022/2023 most powerful strike in the Premier League.

In the final, England played an intense game against Spain, they lost 1-0 after a goal by Olga Carmona in the first half. Despite the loss, energy was high, and the support that the team received throughout the tournament was unmatched, and bringing home the silver is worth celebrating.

Spain’s win also brought important conversation into the light, with two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas encouraging media to take note of the conditions around women’s football during her post-match interview.

THE FUTURE

It’s exciting to think about the impact the Lionesses and their back-to-back European wins will have on the game, but it is important to remember that women’s football still has a long way to go. We’re seeing improvements happen slowly but surely, with brands like Nike and adidas signing female athletes as ambassadors and creating new product specifically tailored to women’s bodies. However, there is still an incredibly large pool of (mostly) men that still reject the possibility of women playing football – who would’ve thought that some people still have the mentality of the FA in 1921 in 2025?

Today there are more opportunities than ever for women in football, not just as players, but in the wider world of the sport. More female commentators are popping up, referees for women’s games are nearly always only women, and there are plenty of football podcasts and magazine ran by women. There’s more space being made for women at the clubs in important roles, and it is important that we see the shift across all levels.

At the grassroots level, there’s still plenty of work to be done, especially when it comes to access and funding. But we continue to push for more recognition, and continue to expand the legacy of women’s football as we move forward. The more we talk about it, the more important it will become.

We’ve all seen how exciting women’s football can be this summer. This type of excitement shouldn’t just happen for international tournament. So, this coming season, encourage your friends to pull up to the pub to watch a game, and push your male friends to also come and watch. If they’ve ever made you sit through a men’s game, the least they can do is return the favour – I also guarantee they’ll love it.

And while we’re at it, it is also important to remember that just because the Lionesses won in the past, they’re all human, and deserve your support regardless of their success in the tournament and after.

What are you waiting for? Grab your kit, and let’s enjoy a beautiful season filled with football, community, and support.