DOCUMENTARY
WHEN FOOTBALL BANNED WOMEN Channel 4, 10pm
This news might come as a complete shock to many – but 100 years ago, it was women not men who were Britain’s footballing superstars.
Women’s football dominated the headlines and attracted crowds of up to 60,000, with fans pouring into stadiums to watch the likes of teenage striker Lily Parr and the country’s most famous team Dick, Kerr Ladies FC – born from munitions factory workers at Dick, Kerr Ltd during the First World War. But a catastrophic FA ruling in 1921 banned the sport.
Women’s football is finally on the rise again and we’ve got a cracking England team heading into Euro 2017, but what damage has been done?
In this remarkable documentary, Clare Balding, a long-time fan, uncovers the hidden history of women who ruled the pitch.
Amazing footage from 1920 shows crowds packing out the stands, before – just months later – women’s football was shut down and forgotten.