Let’s plunge into history. Britain is considered the birthplace of women’s football. By the way, male too. Back in the mid-1880s, the British Ladies’ Football Club was founded. Although, many testimonies indicate that the first matches among married and unmarried women took place in the 17th century.
However, the miracle of women’s acceptance into the ranks of professional athletes did not happen overnight. In those days, as we can guess, the ladies did not find a place in this area.
Another spike of popularity
In the first quarter of the XX century, women’s football was developed mainly due to “workers” teams that were created during First World War on basis of defense plants, factories and enterprises. When the men went to fight at the front, and the women took their places at the machines in factories. To get a little distraction from the routine, women were allowed to play the ball during breaks. Soon, tournaments between the factories began to be held. The process, as they say, began, and after the end of the war, the popularity of this sport in England continued to grow. Charity games featuring teams such as the Dick, Kerrs Leads from Preston drew up to 53,000 spectators.
However, in 1921, the FA (British Football Association) banned women’s teams from participating in league matches, thereby severely hitting this sport and setting it back for more than four decades. In the early 1950s, the Dutch and German football federations followed British examples.
Establishment of women’s football as separate sport
One of the main milestones in the history of this sport is considered to be the period when the next surge in the popularity of the discipline came in 1966, when the unofficial world championship took place in England. After that, federations for this sport appeared in many European countries, and three years later the International European Federation was created.
In 1970, thanks to the sponsorship of Martini & Rossi, it was possible to organize an international tournament called the World Championship. But then it was not yet recognized by FIFA. But in Italy a few years later a women’s league emerged, which received professional status. Against the background of all these events, the new sport began to actively develop in Germany, Norway, Sweden and a little later in the United States.
How does it work now?
A lot of things have changed since then. Female football slowly gains popularity not only among fans but also among sponsors. It is increasingly attracting important sponsors, and the number of contracts is growing steadily. The prize fund of international tournaments is also growing.
The salaries have also grown, the highest paid female footballer receives 450 thousand euros per year, while men of this level receive about 350 thousand euros per meeting. However, the gap between the salaries of female and male footballers has begun to decline, and this trend cannot but please fans of this sport.
How has it influenced betting on women’s football?
In recent years, the quantity of spectators at games has begun to break unthinkable records. As well as the number of people who want to bet on it. Initially, there were no bookmaker companies who offered betting on women’s mathes, but this situation is changing. At this stage, the popularity of betting on women’s football has not yet reached the level of betting on men’s one, but it is better than nothing. In addition, in order to make successful bets on female football, you need to understand it well, since betting on women’s one does not work on the same principles as men’s football betting.