Physical contact, bellicose combat, competition, grimacing—all things that did not fit in with the ideals associated with the sweet female gender in the late 1800s.
– The women who started football had to be pioneers against quite a lot of prejudice, says Vesa Varesprofessor of political history at the University of Turku and chairman of the Sports Museum Foundation.
According to him, a woman’s biology was found to be unsuitable for competitive sports, especially football. According to the doctors, the slender body could not withstand physical game situations and struggle. A competitive athlete would also not fit the traditional role of a woman, i.e. mother and wife.
Women on the playing fields
The First World War was a time of search for women’s football. When the men went to the front, their work remained on the women’s shoulders. At the same time, women tested men’s hobbies in a new way. And they did it successfully.
– During the World War and the beginning of the 20th century, there were women’s teams based on factory workers. They had, for example, more than 50,000 spectators in one single game.
When they returned, the men wanted their jobs and hobbies back, and the English Football Association forbade clubs from renting their pitches to women.
– The result of the practice was that there were no real opportunities for women’s football during dozens of years. And in some countries, like Brazil, women were banned by law from playing soccer in 1941, because the sport was completely against the nature of women.
The ban was lifted only in the 1970s.
The 1970s and 80s were indeed the time when women discovered football as a hobby. In the 1960s, social upheavals and the idea of equality freed women from the roles and preconceived expectations that had previously shackled them. The surrounding society began to see in a more permissive way that women’s human rights include being able to practice any sport.
– We no longer make a biological division that a woman and a man are always suited to different things, because they are different, Vares states.
Women’s football gained real visibility in the late 1980s. That’s when financiers also started to find the sport.
Helmarei’s jubilee year
Football came to Finland slowly. The sport was overshadowed by other already established games.
The championship series started in 1971 under the name Mimmiliga. A couple of years later, the Finns played their first international match. The first goal was scored in 1976.
– Until the 80s, Finland was a mid-level team in Europe. We only made it to the European Championships in the mid-2000s. Certainly much earlier than in men, Vares says.
The Finnish national team Helmarit has so far cleared its way to the European Championships four times.
This year, the team is celebrating its 50th anniversary, which ‘s expert, top football manager Marianne Miettinen characterizes a grown woman at a wonderful age.
– There have been a lot of growing pains along the way, tough teenage years, when you’ve tried to slow down and haven’t been given space. Searching for identity and what is the football played by Finnish women. But then you can say that when you have reached the age of an adult woman, I feel that right now you are enjoying the wisdom that you have accumulated along the way, Miettinen reflects.
– You can’t say that the work is finished, but right now you could enjoy the work that has been done – and surf the waves.
Miettinen sees Helmarit fighting for the world championship in the future.
– Today, when little girls look at prototypes from Helmari or from the World Cup, that dream is really realistic. With hard work, dreams are a possibility to achieve.
The World Championships are an important showcase for the sport
For the first time, women were able to play for the world championship only in 1991. The competitions started as an experiment, but have established their position within the sport.
Vesa Vares highlights the 1999 World Cup, when the United States and China met in the final match. 80,000 spectators watched the game.
Since the 90s, the base of the hobby has expanded and there are more and more players. The World Cup being played now is the ninth in a row, and a total of 32 teams are participating in it, i.e. the same number as in the corresponding men’s competitions. This means that for the first time the games cover the whole world.
– The EC and World Championships have been the flagship, where visibility has been gained. Also notice that the media has followed them. For example, the televising of these and the last games is quantitatively at the same level as the men’s games, says Vares.
All matches of this summer’s World Cup will be shown on ‘s channels.
The games are of great importance to both the position of women and the future of football
The appreciation of women’s football is still overshadowed by men’s. For example, salary income is lower, even when it comes to professional athletes. In addition, serious grievances have been raised during the tournament.
– Very nasty things have come to light. For example, sexual abuse by coaches on players in African countries. The players and operators have come to the conclusion that thanks to the visibility brought by these games, they dare to bring up grievances, says Miettinen.
When the eyes of the whole world are focused on the Games, according to Miettinen, it puts pressure on addressing grievances. He hopes that the Games will encourage the strengthening of the position of women in countries where gender equality has not yet been established.
– Women play the biggest and most beautiful sport in the world. Hopefully it will show that women have the opportunity to throw themselves into sports and be in the same position as boys and men.
According to Miettinen, in terms of the development of women’s football, it is important to give all children an equal opportunity to play sports.
A professional career as a soccer player is no longer a utopia for women, but in addition to players, women are needed in decision-making positions within the sport.
– We need to get women into different roles, not just as makers of mocha piles and launderers. We women have exactly the same skills for management and board positions. We need diversity and thus different perspectives in decision-making bodies. That’s what we need: women in various decision-making positions, Miettinen thinks.