C in Women inevitably formed football clubs as their male counterparts had decades before. Alfred Franklin, an office worker at Dick, Kerr, noticed that women indulged in the game along with their male coworkers throughout breaks in the workday. Witnessing their ability, and sensing an opportunity for the woman to contribute further to the war effort, Franklin urged the woman to form a factory team and to play for charity.

A plaque paying tribute to one of the most successful women's football teams has been unveiled in Lancashire. The granite feature sits at the Sir Tom Finney end of the ground and includes the names of all the founding players, to coincide with the team's centenary. It was unveiled by Gail Newsham, who wrote a book about the team, former Everton and England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis, and Sheila Parker, who started her playing career with the Preston team and went on to become the first captain of the England team in In the Football Association banned the women's game, on the grounds that football was "unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged". Despite the ban, the side continued to play across the world and chalked more than games without defeat. They disbanded in , four years before the Women's Football Association was formed, due to a lack of players.

Imagine this. I know what you might be thinking — surely this described setting was part of the celebrations when the World Cup came home for the first time in — or, maybe a parade rejoicing the end of a long and grueling war. Now, this.

You should have. At the final whistle, hundreds swarmed onto the pitch to lift match-winning goal scorer, little Jennie Harris, onto their shoulders in joyous triumph. Everybody looked up to them.