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Final 2005 at Potsdam ]] Women's Association Football (''Women's soccer'') is the most prominent Team Sport for Women in many countries, and one of the few women's team sports with Professional Leagues . THE HISTORY OF WOMEN'S FOOTBALL Early Women's football Women's football has been played for a long time with reports of the game being played in the 1790s The Scottish FA - "A Brief History of Women’s Football" "Football history: Winning ways of wedded women" . The first match recorded by the Scottish Football Association took place in 1892 in Glasgow . In England the first recorded game of football between women took place in England in 1895 The FA - "Women's Football- A Brief History" BBC Sport - "How women's football battled for survival" . However the women's game was frowned upon by the British Football Associations, and continued without their support. It has been speculated that this may have been due to the threat to the 'masculinity' of the game. Women's football first became popular on a large scale at the time of the First World War , when employment in heavy industry spurred the growth of the game, much as it had done for men fifty years earlier. The most successful team of the era was '' Dick, Kerr's Ladies '' of Preston , England. The team played in the first women's international matches in 1920 , against a team from Paris , France , in April, and also made up most of the England team against a Scottish Ladies XI in 1920 , and winning 22-0 . Despite being more popular than some men's football events (one match saw a 53,000 strong crowd), women's football in England suffered a blow in 1921 when The Football Association outlawed the playing of the game on Association members' pitches, on the grounds that the game (as played by women) was distasteful. Some speculated that this may have also been to envy of the large crowds that women's matches attracted BBC Sport - "Trail-blazers who pioneered women's football" . This led to the formation of the ''English Ladies Football Association'', and play moved to Rugby grounds. The lack of exposure of Women's football also slowed its growth, but its popularity still grew after the ban. The 'revival' of the women's game The English ''Women's FA'' was formed in . In the same year UEFA recommended that the women's game should be taken under the control of the national assocations in each country . In the 1970s , Italy became the first country with professional women's football players, albeit on a part-time basis. The first full-time professional team was the United States National Squad , and in 1992 , Japan was the first country to have a professional women's football league. The 21st century At the beginning of the 21st Century women's football, like men's football, has become professionalised and is growing in both popularity and participation. From the first known professional team in 1984 , to the hundreds of thousands of tickets sold for the 1999 Women's World Cup 1999 Women's World Cup Ticket Sales , support of women's professional football (soccer) has increased around the globe. However, as in other sports, women have stuggled for pay and opportunities equal to male football players'. Major league and International Women's Football enjoys far less television and media coverage than the men's equivalent. For instance the 2006 Algarve Cup , a significant international tournament, was not televised. Another example is that the FIFA's Women's web site links to information about the men's team. It can also be seen that women's football in UK has not recovered to the popularity it once had before the FA ban . However there is optimism that the popularity and participation in women's football will continue to grow History in Asia . COMPETITIONS The growth in women's football has seen major competitions being launched at both National and International level. For more information see '' Women's Football Around The World '' and '' International Competitions In Women's Football '' respectively. UEFA Women's Championship In 1937 , '' Dick, Kerr's Ladies '' played Edinburgh Ladies in "The Championship Of Great Britain And The World" , but there was no formal international tournament until 1982 when the first UEFA European Competition For Representative Women's Teams was launched. The 1984 finals were won by Sweden . The competition was succeeded by the UEFA Women's Championship . In 1987 , the final of the first competition was again won by Sweden . Since then, the UEFA Women's Championship has been dominated by Germany , which has won six of the seven subsequent competitions, including the latest one in 2005 . Women's World Cup The first Women's World Cup was held in China in 1991 , and was won by the USA . The third Cup, held in the United States in 1999 , drew worldwide Television interest and a final in front of a record-setting 90,000+ Los Angeles crowd, where the home team won 5-4 on Penalty Kicks . Youth Tournaments Besides the United States and Germany (which won the 2003 World Cup ), the strongest women's teams have traditionally been Norway , China , and Sweden , with nations like Brazil and Canada emerging as powers. In 2002 , FIFA inaugurated a women's youth championship, officially called the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship . The first event was hosted by Canada . The final was an all- CONCACAF affair, with the USA defeating the host Canadians 1-0 with an extra-time Golden Goal . The second event was held in Thailand in 2004 and won by Germany. The age limit was raised to 20, starting with the 2006 event to be held in Russia . In 2008 , FIFA will inaugurate an Under-17 World Championship . SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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