Women Changing England Football: From Banned to Back-to-Back Champions

During World War 1, women spearheaded fundraising to support the men fighting for the country, drawing crowds of over 53,000 people. Dick, Kerr Ladies FC from Preston, a team of factory women who started playing football on their lunch breaks, became the most celebrated women’s team in the country, raising the equivalent of £10 million for war-related charities over their lifetime.

But when the men returned from the frontline, they wanted their places back. Women were pushed back into domestic life, and in 1921 the FA banned women from football, declaring the sport “quite unsuitable for females.” But that didn’t work – women kept playing wherever they could find space. Years later, the ban was lifted, and the sport began to develop much more quickly.

The Lionesses

Women said football was coming home, then, on a warm July evening at Wembley in 2022, the Lionesses made it happen in front of 87,192 fans. Three years later, they did it again, beating Spain on penalties to become back-to-back European Champions for the first time in English history.

This International Women’s Day, with another clash against Spain on the horizon, we’re celebrating the journey that got us here.

England vs Spain, April 14 2026: Why This One Matters

And now, the next chapter. On Tuesday, 14th April, the Lionesses host Spain at Wembley Stadium at 7 pm in a 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier. These are the two best women’s teams in Europe, meeting less than a year after their Euro 2025 final in Basel, where England came from behind to draw 1-1 before winning 3-1 on penalties. Spain won the 2023 World Cup. England are the reigning European champions. And only the team that finishes top of Group A3 qualifies automatically for Brazil 2027. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

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