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A Game for Rough Girls?: A History of Women's Football in Britian
Can we truly call football England's 'national' game?
How have we arrived at this point of such clear inequality between men's and women's football?
Between 1921 and 1972, women were banned from playing in football League grounds in the UK. Yet in 1998 FIFA declared that "the future is feminine" and that football was the fastest growing sport for women globally.
The result of several years of original research, the book traces the continuities in women's participation since the beginnings of the game, and highlights the significant moments that have influenced current practice. The text provides:
*insight into the communities and individual experiences of players, fans, investors, administrators and coaches
*examination of the attitudes and role of national and international associations
*analysis of the development of the professional game
*comparisons with women's football in mainland Europe, the USA and Africa.
A Game for Rough Girls is the first text to properly theorize the development of the game. Examining recreational and elite levels, the author provides a thorough critique, placing women's experience in the context of broader cultural and sports studies debates on social change, gender, power and global economics.
How have we arrived at this point of such clear inequality between men's and women's football?
Between 1921 and 1972, women were banned from playing in football League grounds in the UK. Yet in 1998 FIFA declared that "the future is feminine" and that football was the fastest growing sport for women globally.
The result of several years of original research, the book traces the continuities in women's participation since the beginnings of the game, and highlights the significant moments that have influenced current practice. The text provides:
*insight into the communities and individual experiences of players, fans, investors, administrators and coaches
*examination of the attitudes and role of national and international associations
*analysis of the development of the professional game
*comparisons with women's football in mainland Europe, the USA and Africa.
A Game for Rough Girls is the first text to properly theorize the development of the game. Examining recreational and elite levels, the author provides a thorough critique, placing women's experience in the context of broader cultural and sports studies debates on social change, gender, power and global economics.
- GenresNonfiction
236 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 2003
About the author
Jean M. Williams
20 books3 followersDr. Williams is professor emeritus of University of Arizona, Department of Exercise and Sport Science, and the Department of Psychology.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 22, 2024
Given the popularity and growth of women's in recent years it is surprising that more has not been written. Williams oiutlines some of the key aspects of its growth and development in Britain, and in doing so has given us a scholarly text that is more generally accessible than the papers in academic journals, and a useful place to start.
Displaying 1 of 1 review