Good Times Never Seemed So Good

After ridicule & banishment a 100 years ago English Women’s Footballers have proved the doubters wrong

Image by Unknown Author CCA — SA in the Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. Showing the British Ladies’ Football Team, The North, on 23 March 1895 in London

These are the brave ladies, pictured above, who, in 1895, had a dream. The British Ladies’ Football Club wanted to play Association Football, or Soccer as the Americans call it, and to be taken seriously. Instead, they were set upon, ridiculed, and banned from playing the game they loved.

Fast forward 127 years and English women have achieved their dream by becoming European Football champions, beating a very good German side 2–1 at Wembley in the Final of Euro 2022 on Sunday 31 July.

July 2022 has been a record-breaking month in the UK, both for attendances at Women’s football, and TV viewing figures.

• 68,871 fans saw England beat Austria 1–0 at Old Trafford, Manchester, in the opening game on 6 July, setting a Women’s Euros attendance record
• 87,192 fans were at Wembley to watch the Euro Final — a new record for a Euros game in men’s or women’s football
• A peak audience of 9.3 million viewers on the BBC, the UK public TV service network, set a new tournament record during the 4–0 win over Sweden in the Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final
• A record television audience of 17.4…