We played for 95.000 people but came home to a ban”: Reclaiming Herstory: The Untold Triumphs of Past Women Footballers Unearthed Despite FIFA’s Neglect

Today FIFA and many National Football federations, including the English FA and the Dutch KNVB highlight how they encourage young girls and women to play football. On the official FIFA website we find quotes like “FIFA and Optus join forces to empower women’s sport and inspire the next generation.”

Well, they may be empowering women’s football now, but what we do not find on their websites is how they discouraged, prevented, and even banned women’s football one generation ago. Despite the hostile attitude of FIFA and indeed a large part of society, women did play the beautiful game and with much more success than is generally acknowledged.