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This weeks reading’s dove into the early days of the beautiful game’s origins with women and the women’s game. These two pieces observed the development of the women’s soccer across the globe – although more specifically the UK and USA (however also touching on parts of South America & the rest of Europe). Throughout both readings the authors commented on the political, cultural, and economic factors that led to, and derived from, women beginning to play soccer. Soccer developed very differently in the USA and UK, the former best being described as “use sport to develop…

I always assumed the sport only really blew up after the 70s, but it turns out there was this whole hidden scene back in the early 1900s. It’s wild to realize that women were out there competing and organizing games over a century ago, long before the modern era we’re used to. One of the most interesting things I found was that soccer was actually marketed as the “safe” choice for women. Back then, American football (gridiron) was seen as way too violent and dangerous for girls, so educators pushed soccer because they thought it was…

By: Abraham Cruz-Hernandez During the World War’s many of the men who played soccer left to go to war. So women took over the working industry and sports. During this time the norms of women in the industry were frowned upon and they were not allowed to play in a sport like soccer. Despite it being frowned upon they started their own teams and leagues and had their own games. The chapter highlights the issues women faced during the time and the way they used this as a way to gain more independence and visibility int…

In “Women and Soccer in the Early Twentieth Century” and second chapter from “The History of Women’s Football”, we see that women’s football was well and truly in its earliest stages. As described in “The History of Women’s Football”, women playing football was heavily frowned upon. Men went off to fight overseas during World War 1 which allowed women to take over in American societies and play roles that they traditionally hadn’t been in before. This shift of course extended to sports, where women stepped onto the pitch and built something hugely popular. The scale of…

The history of women’s soccer, particularly North America, had little to no coverage in newspapers, and so when games were played the only record would be the mention of the team names and the final score. There is so little we know of women’s soccer before the 1950’s, and in this weeks readings of From Football to Soccer : The Early History of the Beautiful Game in the United States (Chapter 7) and The History of Women’s Football (Chapter 2), we see what few records have to show about the progression of women’s soccer, and what…

The module on women’s football has deepened my understanding of the battles women have had to overcome to participate in football in both the UK and the US. The module broadened my knowledge of the barriers women faced in playing football, how gender-related barriers influenced the early growth of football, and how public attitudes and institutional policies impeded their participation. Through the course readings, I learned a lot about the persistence of women who were the first to play football, despite facing great opposition. According to Williams (2022), there have been numerous instances of gender discrimination…

When people think of soccer, they often think of men playing the game. But at least in the U.S, they talk about the U.S women’s team often. And that is talking in modern terms. The thing is that although women’s soccer is talked about today, nobody seems to care about the history of women’s soccer. Which is very unfortunate because they also played a part in the development of popularity in the sport. Although no credit is given to them, based on the readings, it brings to light the history of women’s soccer. And helps bring…

Due to the outbreak of WW1, which saw most European and American men shipped off to fight in the battles of it, this led to the the need of bodies in important industries, which allowed women to hold jobs and roles that usually men would fill because of this time of need. While that general statement seems to be common knowledge now for anyone who has taken a general history class, what isn’t necessarily talked and what may not be common knowledge about is how women’s soccer was affected because of this war and time period.…

The second chapter from The History of Women’s Football, and the seventh chapter of From Football to Soccer: The Early History of the Beautiful Game in the United States, both go over the early struggles and developments of women’s football. As described in The History of Women’s Football, women playing football was seen as a threat in ways to the men’s teams.  During the first World War, men were off fighting the war, leaving the women to take the jobs they had and essentially run the country while they were away.  This included the sport of…

What really stands out between these two readings is that women’s soccer wasn’t just about whether women could play, it was about where they were allowed to play and who controlled that space. In the U.S., the game kind of grew quietly in the background, mostly in schools and physical education programs. It was encouraged in a limited way, something healthy, social, and “appropriate”, but that also meant it stayed contained. Without real leagues or consistent competition, it never fully built momentum, even though plenty of women were clearly interested and involved. At the same time,…