AN HISTORIC re-enactment of a football match that took place between two factory teams in 1917 has helped highlight the impact the sport had on women during the First World War.
The No Game for Girls project aims to mark the factory women who set up football teams in Coventry during World
War One.
Players from Coventry City Ladies wore kits of the era – with the original players’ surnames on their backs – and
represent the historical Humber Ladies and Rudge-Whitworth teams for the match at the Butts Arena last week.
In a repeat of the original result the Humber Ladies team again ran out winners by seven goals to two.
The game is just one part an ongoing project – with Heritage Lottery funding – exploring the early days of women’s football in Coventry, which was an important centre for the ladies’ game with a touring exhibition and other events to follow.
One match at Highfield Road in 1921 saw a crowd of 27,000 – almost 12 times bigger than the average attendance at
Sixfields for the men’s setup last season.
Project manager, Fran Porter, added: “With women’s football on the rise, and the success teams like Coventry Ladies are
having, it’s hard to believe that the history has been uncelebrated for so long.”
Left – Two spectators get into the spirit of the match. 35.014.007.cov.jm3
Right – Olde footie match. 35.014.007.cov.jm2
