Anyone see Clare Baldings programme about world WW1 women's football.
Featured Dick, Kerrs ladies and their Preston factory now run by Alstrom
Women worked to help the war effort taking over jobs men vacated when they went to war. Started to help support the men who came home injured or who died and their families as a charitable set up, it was able to use FA grounds and drew crowds of 60000 to watch. Balding didn't mention that In those days women's legs were well hidden so to see 22 running around in shorts must have helped!!
Munitions factories started it off with Dick Kerrs teams playing each other, but gradually Dick Kerrs started paying girls from other clubs to join them and were largely unbeaten over many years. They spawned many women's teams around the country.
The income by passed the FA. Deepdale held the first floodlit match using flares and the team went on foreign tours Ito make more. They played mostly men's teams and beat most.
After the war the men returned and women were expected to give up their jobs for the men, return to work in the. home.
The miners went on strike in 1921 and the girls played to raise money for strikers families raising fears this could lead to a revolution as had happpened around Europe, so the FA stopped them playing at FA grounds effectively killing the crowds. They used ***ist reasons for stopping it rather than political ones so Clare was on her high horse rather than unbiased, but some interesting women featured. Well worth the watch but..
It's a pity she didn't interview the FA at all.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2017/0...ng-piece-lost/