Integrity Score 120
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Source: History Extra/ Soccer Politics
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It wouldn't take a second thought to reassure ourselves that female footballers only started playing in global tournaments in 1991, but only to our disappointment for being indifferent to the reality!.
When things started to change:
The 1970s saw the FA uplift its ban and in Italy, they witnessed the first professional football players.
The first unofficial women’s World Cup took place 21 years earlier with the Coppa del Mondo in Italy in 1970, an event followed by the Mundial in Mexico in 1971, the series of Mundialito tournaments throughout the 1980s in Italy.
FIFA however tried to strangle the tournament at birth but it failed – chiefly because, over the previous few years, international women’s football had seen a surge in popular interest and it was enough to make FIFA realise that women' football has arrived at the scene.
In 1975, Asia hosted the first women’s Asian cup took place in Hong Kong. The competition l hosted 6 teams (New Zealand, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia), with the eventual winner being New Zealand (NZ 3-1 Thailand).
The tournament was the first of a biennial occurrence and the world have since seen 17 tournaments across Asia and Australasia.
Today, the tournament serves as the World Cup Qualifier and enlists the top 8 teams.
Leading off of the tournaments success Oceania followed suit and in 1983 created the Oceania Football Cup. The tournament is triennial and hosts any of the 11 Oceanic national teams that enter the tournament.
The 80s push:
The final decade before the 91 World Cup witnessed the greatest transition and alignment in. the male mould. UEFA introduced their Official open Championship in 1984.
The Tournament staged 4 qualifying groups and then a final with 4 teams (Denmark, Italy, England & Sweden), staging games over multiple legs.
This was perhaps the largest scale tournament at the time and was preceded by the 1987 and 1989 European Championships.
At this point, except in Africa, the Female game was on a worldwide basis, with every continent having their leagues and tournaments.
This was the last milestone and the keystone for the arrival of the 1991 World Cup !!