Women on the Ball: A Guide to Women's Football by Sue Lopez #bookreview

Book review: Sue Lopez, author of this book, was one of the top early women footballers. She played for Southampton for many years, the team that won eight of the first eleven women's FA cups. Using her position within the game, which she continued after giving up playing with administrative and coaching roles, she tells not just her story, but also the story of women's football in England, and around the world. She also looks at "the barriers that still need to be hurdled in order for women to have real opportunities to participate." Many of these barriers are still prevalent today despite the book being 20 years old.

The first part of the book looks at the history of women's football, with the first boom peaking in 1921 with Dick Kerr's Ladies from Preston getting sell out crowds at stadiums such as Goodison Park leading to a ban by the FA on women playing on FA affiliated grounds. "The Dick Kerr Ladies had given women's football a great start, but in truth the FA ban had squashed the life out of the game." Then there was the second boom ignited by renewed interest following England winning the World Cup in 1966. This led to the Women's Football Association (WFA) being formed and organised women's football being played, and a lifting of the FA ban. The history here is really interesting especially given the author's inside view of it. There are interesting bits about the big clubs such as Manchester Corinthians and Fodens, profiles of a few high-profile England players of the time, details of the early England internationals plus details of things not documented well elsewhere like unofficial England internationals, WFA in-fighting, the WFA passing on hosting a World Cup in England etc.

And that is the first half of the book. After that the narrative stops as there is a chapter devoted to other nations women's football with lists of facts about the top nations, such as their first international match, as well as a brief description of that country's progress to date. The chapters after that are a little academic-y looking at women in different roles in football, such as a referee or a spectator, and barriers that prevail, with lots of references to other materials. 

So a book of two halves, one narrative, one more think-tank-y but worth a read.

Available on Amazon HERE.