Ban on Women's Football, 1921

A 100 years ago today, the English FA took one of the crassest decisions in football history when it banned the playing of football by women in any ground under its jurisdiction. As most posters on this forum will know, it is now accepted that the decision was taken to protect men's football which had been badly affected by WWI. Shortly before the decision was taken in 1921, the increasing popularity of women's football in England had been demonstrated by a gate of over 50,000 in Goodison Park with many more locked out to see a women's game. Over 60 years later, I think, the FA eventually apologised for the 1921 decision.

In Ireland, the FAI, which was also founded in 1921, appears to have adopted the exact same course as the FA although I've never seen any official public pronouncements by the Irish body on the matter. FWIW, my own view is that the FAI has yet to confront its own misogynistic approach to football during the first 50 years of its existence whereby half the population in the country were effectively denied the opportunity of participating in the game and only very grudgingly encouraged to take part in the game for many decades thereafter.