92-744: The Greater Manchester Women's Football League is a women's association football league in Greater Manchester , England run by a league committee. Matches are played on Sunday afternoons. The league is at levels 7 and 8 of the women's pyramid . The league promotes to the North West Women's Regional Football League and does not relegate to any league. The league also runs Challenge Cup and League Cup competitions. The GMWFL also runs an Open Age League Cup competition. Women%27s association football Women's association football , more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer ,
184-808: A Paralympic event. The CONCACAF W Championship is a women's football competition organized by CONCACAF that often serves as the qualifying competition to the Women's World Cup and the Olympics. The CONCACAF W Gold Cup had its inaugural edition in 2024 . It featured 12 national teams (8 from the CONCACAF region, and 4 invited from the CONMEBOL region) and was won by the United States . European women's tournaments featuring national teams were held in Italy in 1969 and in 1979 as
276-571: A 53,000 strong crowd), women's football in England was halted in December 1921 when The Football Association outlawed the playing of the game on association members' pitches, the FA stating that "the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged." Players and football writers have argued that this ban was due to envy of the large crowds that women's matches attracted, and because
368-555: A Save Our Seats campaign, the club was allowed to move the fans, under an exceptional circumstances clause. As a gesture of goodwill, the club did not pursue the fans for legal costs awarded over their insured limit. In late 2003, preempting the relaxation of the UK gambling laws , the club signed a deal with MGM Mirage to hand over the land above St James Metro station, behind the Gallowgate End, in return for an equity investment, to build
460-467: A ban from 1921 to 1970 in England that disallowed women's football on the grounds used by its member clubs. In many other nations, female footballers faced similarly hostile treatment and bans by male-dominated organisations. In the 1970s, international women's football tournaments were extremely popular, and the oldest surviving continental championship was founded, the AFC Women's Asian Cup . However,
552-570: A car park to the north and Leazes Terrace to the East. Further south is St James station , a terminus station of the Tyne & Wear Metro line to the east, although the main Metro interchange at Monument station , is situated only 250 m to the east. The Milburn stand is the 'main' stand of the stadium, housing the main entrance, lifts and escalators behind a glass fronted atrium . The dugouts and player's tunnel
644-585: A crowd of 22,000. The tournament ran for a second year in season 1918–19, the winners being the ladies of Palmer's shipyard in Jarrow , who defeated Christopher Brown's of Hartlepool 1–0 at St James' Park in Newcastle on 22 March 1919. At the time of the First World War , female employment in heavy industry spurred the growth of the game, much as it had done for men fifty years earlier. A team from England played
736-542: A jointly run complex centred on a 1,000-square-foot (93 m ) Super Casino . These plans failed when the proposed number of super casinos was reduced to one in the UK, and in January 2008 £5 million was repaid by the club to MGM. In 2005 the Gallowgate was redeveloped, with a new bar being built beneath the upper tier of the Gallowgate End, named " Shearer's' " after Newcastle player Alan Shearer . During excavation underneath
828-565: A league attendance of more than 50,000 at this level in the modern era, and ended the season promoted as champions of the Football League Championship . In October 2014, a scoreboard was installed in the far corner of the Sir John Hall Stand. The scoreboard was used for the first time on 18 October during a Premier League tie against Leicester City. However the game was delayed one hour, due to damage caused by strong wind to
920-407: A league fixture against Hull on 13 September 2008, registered a crowd of 50,242 amid protests against Ashley and Dennis Wise. This was followed by an attendance of 44,935 on 27 September in a league fixture against Blackburn Rovers , which followed a record low attendance of 20,577 on Wednesday, 24 September in a League Cup fixture, the lowest ever attendance for a competitive first-team match since
1012-518: A number of European women's leagues. However, the popularity and participation in women's football continues to grow. In 2022, FC Barcelona had the two largest reported attendances for women's football since the 1971 Women's World Cup final between Mexico and Denmark (110,000) at the Azteca Stadium , when they played Real Madrid (91,553) and Wolfsburg (91,648) at Camp Nou for the 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League . In April 2024,
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#17328554435151104-530: A patch of sloping grazing land, bordered by Georgian Leazes Terrace, and near the historic Town Moor , owned by the Freemen of the city, both factors that later affected development of the ground, with the local council being the landlord of the site. Leazes Terrace was built c1830 by notable Newcastle residents, architect Thomas Oliver and builder Richard Grainger . Once the residence of high society in Newcastle, it
1196-726: A retroactive recognition decided in 2003 . The first FIFA Women's World Cup was held in China in November 1991 and won by the United States . The runners-up, Norway , became the 1995 champions, beating Germany in that final, in Sweden. The United States won the 1999 final on penalties against China (with a competition-record crowd of over 90,000 in Pasadena ). Germany won consecutive world titles in 2003 and 2007, winning finals against Sweden and Brazil respectively. Japan became champions in 2011 ,
1288-523: A second 's', whilst it was asserted by the BBC that older fans, in particular, pronounce it with two. A professor of applied linguistics of Newcastle University stated that if a second 's' was added to the name, it has to ultimately be pronounced in speech. The BBC went on to state that according to the Apostrophe Protection Society , if the ground is named as the "Park of St James", the name of
1380-411: A state-of-the-art facility, even boasting a swimming pool. The second-ever rugby league test match, and first test victory by Great Britain, was played at the ground in 1908 against the touring Australian Kangaroos side on 23 January 1909. Between 1920 and 1930, plans were drawn up for a double-tiered stand by notable football architect Archibald Leitch . However, after planning disputes, all that
1472-485: A team from Ireland on Boxing Day 1917 in front of a crowd of 20,000 spectators. The Irish side of this match was dramatised in the play Rough Girls in 2021. Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. of Preston, England played in one of the first women's international matches against a French XI team in 1920, and also made up most of the England team against a Scottish Ladies XI in the same year, winning 22–0. Despite being more popular than some men's football events (one match saw
1564-554: A woman did not speak at the FIFA Congress until 1986 ( Ellen Wille ). The FIFA Women's World Cup was first held in China in 1991 and has since become a major television event in many countries. Women may have been playing football for as long as the game has existed. Evidence shows that a similar game ( cuju , also known as tsu chu ) was played by women during the Han dynasty (25–220 CE), as female figures are depicted in frescoes of
1656-452: A women's match in 1892. The British Ladies' Football Club was founded by activist Nettie Honeyball in England in 1894. Honeyball and those like her paved the way for women's football. However, the women's game was frowned upon by the British football associations, and continued without their support. It has been suggested that this was motivated by a perceived threat to the "masculinity" of
1748-484: Is a competition for women's national football teams governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). India won the first 5 editions, beating Nepal four times and Bangladesh once in the final. Bangladesh is the current champion having defeated Nepal by 3–1 goals on 19 September 2022 in the final. The OFC Women's Nations Cup is a women's football tournament for national teams who belong to
1840-484: Is an international women's football competition held every two years and sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It was first contested in 1991, but was not held biennially until 1998. Nigeria is the most successful nation in the tournament's history with 11 titles. The CAF Women's Champions League is an international competition that involves the top women's club teams from countries affiliated with
1932-465: Is located in the traditional position of the middle of the main stand. Behind the seating terraces of the stands, the Milburn/Leazes structure contains four concourse levels, the Gallowgate End has three concourse levels, and the East stand has two concourse levels. The stadium has an asymmetrical appearance from the air and from some angles from ground level, due to the discrepancy in height between
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#17328554435152024-511: Is now a Grade 1 listed building , and, recently refurbished, is currently being used as self-catering postgraduate student accommodation by Newcastle University . The site was also near the gallows of the city, last used in 1844, lending the Gallowgate End its name. The first football team to play at St James' Park was Newcastle Rangers in 1880. They moved to a ground at Byker in 1882, then returned briefly to St James' Park in 1884 before folding that year. Newcastle West End took over
2116-613: Is the team sport of association football played by women . It is played at the professional level in multiple countries , and 187 national teams participate internationally . The same rules, known as the Laws of the Game , are used for both women's and men's football. After the "first golden age" of women's football occurred in the United Kingdom in the 1920s, with one match attracting over 50,000 spectators, The Football Association instituted
2208-546: Is the case with the well-known public space in London: St James's Park . The full stop after the St giving St. James' Park is both included and omitted by many sources, including the club's official website address information. Post-millennium it has been debated both whether the written name should include an apostrophe mark after St James, and, if it does, whether the official written form should include an extra 's' after
2300-475: The 1966 World Cup . The ban in England was maintained by the FA for nearly fifty years, until January 1970. The next year, UEFA recommended that the national associations in each country should manage the women's game. In 2002, Lily Parr of Dick Kerr's Ladies was the first woman to be inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. She was later honoured with a statue in front of
2392-530: The 1971 Women's World Cup , was hosted by Mexico the following year. The final, also won by Denmark, was played at Estadio Azteca , the largest stadium in North America at the time, in front of crowds estimated at 110,000 or 112,500 attendees. During the 1970s, Italy became the first country to have professional women's football players on a part-time basis. Italy was also the first country to import foreign footballers from other European countries, which raised
2484-484: The 1993 promotion to the top flight , and a drop of over 4,000 from previous lows. Although Newcastle's crowds inevitably fell in 2009–10 as a result of their relegation and the fact that Britain was still in recession , the Magpies still attracted a modern-day record average attendance for a club at this level with their attendance for the season averaging at 43,383. They also became the first championship club to attract
2576-564: The 2023–24 A-League Women season set the record for the most attended season of any women's sport in Australian history, with the season recording a total attendance of 284,551 on 15 April 2024, and finishing with a final total attendance of 312,199. The first known World Cup tournaments for women's teams are the 1970 Women's World Cup in Italy and the 1971 Women's World Cup in Mexico, both of which hold attendance records and were organised by
2668-588: The English Ladies' Football Association was formed, with 58 affiliated clubs. A silver cup was donated by the first president of the association, Len Bridgett. A total of 23 teams entered the first competition in the spring of 1922. The winners were Stoke Ladies who beat Doncaster and Bentley Ladies 3–1 on 24 June 1922. In 1937, the Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. , who had lost to Scotland's Rutherglen Ladies in 1923 but continued to be proclaimed as "world champions", played
2760-583: The Magpie Group consortium in a hostile takeover of the club, was installed as chairman. Sir John used his experience in property development to rapidly gain approval and invested heavily in the stadium with finances gained from success under new manager Kevin Keegan . The Leazes End that had been demolished but not replaced was finally rebuilt, and opened as the Sir John Hall stand for Newcastle's debut season in
2852-715: The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The competition has served as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women's World Cup since 1991. After the lifting of the FA ban, the Women's Football Association held its first national knockout tournament , the 1970–71 WFA Cup . Southampton Women's F.C. was the inaugural winner and became the Cup-winner eight times. From 1983 to 1994, Doncaster Belles reached ten out of eleven finals, winning six of them. As of 2023, Chelsea are
Greater Manchester Women's Football League - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-516: The Premiership in 1993. The Gallowgate End was rebuilt, the Milburn Stand modified, and a new pitch, drainage and floodlights were installed. With all four corners filled in with seating, by 1995 the stadium had reached a capacity of 36,610. As the expanded stadium still received full houses due to continuing success of the team led by the returning Kevin Keegan , in 1995, plans were submitted by
3036-508: The UEFA Women's Championship was then dominated by Germany , who won eight titles, including six in a row from 1995 to 2013. The only other teams to win, as of 2022, are Norway in 1993 , the Netherlands at home in 2017 , and England at home in 2022 . The UEFA Women's Champions League is an international competition that involves the top women's club teams from countries affiliated with
3128-611: The Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), was launched in 2009 and folded in late 2011. The following year, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was launched with initial support from the soccer federations of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In 2017, Liga MX Femenil was launched in Mexico and broke several attendance records. The league is composed of women's teams of the men's counterpart teams in Liga MX . On 20 March 2024,
3220-593: The 1982 appearance of the first women's league, Galanita. The Pertiwi Cup , which drew contestants from throughout all of Indonesia, was first played in 2006. The first professional league was held in 2019 under the name Liga 1 Putri . In Australia, the W-League, now known as A-League Women , was formed in 2008. In 2015, the Chinese Women's Super League (CWSL) was launched with an affiliated second division, CWFL. Previously, The Chinese Women's Premier Football League
3312-487: The 2008–09 season, at 3 pm on a Saturday, saw the lowest-ever Premier League attendance at the expanded ground, of 47,711, resulting in cash turnstiles. It was speculated at the time that this was due to the Great Recession ; however, with the shock departure of Kevin Keegan before the next home game, future changes in attendances would be hard to attribute to this alone. The first game after Keegan's resignation,
3404-671: The African governing body CAF . The AFC Women's Asian Cup is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football competition and premier women's football competition in the AFC region for national teams. The SAFF Women's Championship , also called the South Asian Football Federation Women's Cup ,
3496-508: The D1 title to PSG until 2021 when PSG finished ahead of Lyon, and won five Coupe de France finals against Paris. In 2017 both teams reached the Champions League final, with Lyon beating Paris after a penalty shoot-out and winning its fourth title in the competition. While a number of features continue to improve, this is not the case for female coaches. They continue to be under-represented in
3588-644: The Edinburgh City Girls in the "Championship of Great Britain and the World". Dick, Kerr won the competition with a 5–1 scoreline. The 1939 competition was a more organised affair and the Edinburgh City Girls beat Dick, Kerr 5–2 in Edinburgh , following this up with a 7–1 demolition of Glasgow Ladies in Falkirk to take the title. The English Women's FA was formed in 1969 as a result of the increased interest generated by
3680-534: The European Competition for Women's Football . They were not recognized as "official" by UEFA, which opposed women's football until the 1970s. The UEFA championship began in 1984 under the name European Competition For Representative Women's Teams . Now, it is also commonly referred to as the UEFA Women's Euro. The 1984 tournament was won by Sweden . Norway won the 1987 edition. Between 1987 and 2013,
3772-594: The European governing body UEFA . The Copa América Femenina is the main competition in women's football between national teams that are affiliated with CONMEBOL . The Copa Libertadores Femenina , formally the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina , is the international club competition for women's teams that play in the CONMEBOL region. The competition started in 2009 in response to the increased interest in women's football. The Women's Africa Cup of Nations
Greater Manchester Women's Football League - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-492: The FA had no control over the money made from the women's game. Dick, Kerr Ladies player Alice Barlow said, "we could only put it down to jealousy. We were more popular than the men and our bigger gates were for charity". Despite the ban, some women's teams continued to play. The Northern Rugby Union did not follow the FA ban, so the short-lived English Ladies Football Association (1921–1922) played some of its matches at rugby grounds. In other countries, women's football
3956-616: The L. League – still in existence today as Division 1 of the Nadeshiko League . In 2020, Japan established the first-ever women's professional league in Asia, the WE League , which started on fall 2021. In Indonesia, the first recorded "national" women's football event, known as the "Kartini Cup", took place in 1981. The competition was held on an amateur level. Later competitions were also held in an amateur and semi-professional level, including
4048-497: The Metro Station, which had previously been earmarked for the casino project. Expansion of the Gallowgate end involves difficulties due to the proximity of a road, Strawberry Place, and issues surrounding reinforcement of the underground St James Metro station. The 2007 redevelopment plans announced under the previous regime were put on hold following the takeover of the club and its plc holding company by owner Mike Ashley . One of
4140-501: The Moor" eventually gathered a 36,000-petition signature, equal to the then-current stadium capacity. Opposition also came from a conservation group Friends of Leazes Park led by Dolly Potter. The club proposed to mitigate the loss of the moor land with proposals for a land trade-off with landscaping of land freed up by scaling down of the existing stadium restoring the views of the historic park from Leazes Terrace. It became clear that
4232-618: The Olympic women's teams do not have restrictions on professionalism or age. The participation of Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic tournament was a bone of contention because England and other British Home Nations are not eligible to compete as separate entities. Eventually, both the women's and men's Great Britain teams fielded some players from the other home nations, but without their associations' active support. Although there are women's teams of blind football (5-a-side) and cerebral palsy football (7-a-side), women's football has never been
4324-512: The additional stand and roof was constructed while leaving the existing cantilever roof intact until the last possible moment These developments increased capacity to approximately 52,143. The construction was completed in July 2000 at a cost of £42 million. Ironically, after opposition from local residents to the relocation plan, the expansion of the current ground at the Leazes End has further reduced
4416-407: The apostrophe. Pronunciation of the name with a second 's' sound or not differs between both the local public and journalists, and is similarly debated. In May 2008 BBC Look North examined the case for adding an extra 's', to denote the ground is "the park of St James". The club stated that the ground is named after its neighbouring street, St James Street, which predates the ground, although it
4508-567: The building of the first small stand at the Gallowgate End. A redeveloped Gallowgate and further stands followed in 1899, bringing the first official capacity to 30,000 (standing). While the stadium is now synonymous with the Black and Whites , Newcastle United actually played in red and white at St James' Park until 1904. In 1905, a doubling of capacity to 60,000, with a main stand on the Barrack Road (now Milburn Stand), and major other stands, produced
4600-403: The club intend to submit plans for a new £300million development of the stadium and surrounding areas, to include a major conference centre, hotels and luxury apartments. The proposals also include a plan to increase the Gallowgate End, eventually taking the capacity to 60,000. This expansion would be funded by the city council and linked to the redevelopment of the land behind the stand and over
4692-504: The club to relocate to Leazes Park to the north. A new £65m purpose-built 55,000-seat stadium would be erected, less than two pitch lengths away from the original, but rotated, which would be similar to the San Siro in Italy. The old ground would be redeveloped to be used by Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club, as part of the wider envisaged 'Sporting Club of Newcastle', with basketball and ice-hockey teams purchased by Sir John Hall. Leazes Park
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#17328554435154784-545: The club, the St James' Park title was dropped as not being "commercially attractive". Previously, in 2009, the club had announced plans to sell the naming rights for the stadium. After protests about the possible loss of the name of the stadium, which included the tabling of an early day motion in Parliament, the club clarified the following week that the move would not involve the loss of the name St James' Park altogether, citing
4876-465: The country's first senior football world championship. The United States won the tournament again in 2015 and 2019 . Spain won the tournament for the first time in 2023 . Since Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament , a Women's Football Tournament has been staged at the Olympic Games . Unlike in the men's Olympic Football tournament (based on teams of mostly under-23 players),
4968-508: The example of 'SportsDirect.com@StJamesPark' as a potential stadium rights package. The following day, the club announced that the stadium would be known as sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium temporarily until the end of the season, to showcase the idea behind the package, until the new sponsor was announced. The stadium's official renaming as the Sports Direct Arena, or SDA, caused considerable perturbation amongst supporters of
5060-399: The first noticeable changes in the stadium in the new era was the removal of advertising mounted underneath the roofs (facing the crowd) for Shepherd Offshore and Cameron Hall Developments, companies associated with the previous regime. A large advertising sign for Sports Direct appeared on the lip of the roof of the Gallowgate, visible from the pitch. A full review of the club performed by
5152-539: The first professional women's soccer league in the United States, the WUSA , was launched and lasted three years. The league was spearheaded by members of the World Cup-winning American team and featured players like Mia Hamm , Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain , as well as top-tier international players like Germany's Birgit Prinz and China's Sun Wen . A second attempt towards a sustainable professional league,
5244-400: The first round proper getting more than the women's winners. St James%27 Park UEFA [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne , England. It is the home of Newcastle United . With a seating capacity of 52,350 seats, it is the 8th largest football stadium in England. St James' Park has been
5336-399: The game. In August 1917, a tournament was launched for female munition workers' teams in north-east England. Officially titled the "Tyne Wear & Tees Alfred Wood Munition Girls Cup", it was also known as "The Munitionettes' Cup". The first winners of the trophy were Blyth Spartans , who defeated Bolckow Vaughan 5–0 in a replayed final tie at Middlesbrough on 18 May 1918 in front of
5428-477: The ground in 1886. West End were wound up in 1892 and effectively merged into their rivals Newcastle East End , who took over the lease of St James' Park and became Newcastle United later that year. On 3 September 1892, Newcastle East End played its first game on the football ground. Local residents opposition to football being played at St James' dated back to the first games in the Football League following
5520-471: The ground is correctly written as St. James's Park, with the second 's' pronounced. Commenting on the written form on Radio Newcastle a week after the BBC story, a different senior lecturer in applied linguistics also of Newcastle University stated that if the name is to denote "the park of St James", the written form should feature an apostrophe, but the use of an additional 's' after it is optional and both are correct. Match-day programmes printed up until
5612-408: The home ground of Newcastle United since 1892 and has been used for football since 1880. Throughout its history, the desire for expansion has caused conflict with local residents and the local council. This has led to proposals to move at least twice in the late 1960s, and a controversial 1995 proposed move to nearby Leazes Park . Reluctance to move has led to the distinctive lop-sided appearance of
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#17328554435155704-467: The idea that the name should have no apostrophe as found in the name of the adjacent St James Street The stadium is known by its initials, SJP, or as St James'. In reflection of the early use of the site, it is also often referred to as Gallowgate, distinct from similarly unofficially named Gallowgate End, the name of the south stand. The stadium has a rough pitch alignment of north easterly. The four main stands are as follows: The unofficial new home of
5796-448: The inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup tournament held in 1991 to the 1,194,221 tickets sold for the 1999 Women's World Cup , visibility and support of women's professional football had increased around the globe. However, as in some other sports, women's pay and opportunities are lower in comparison with professional male football players. Both national and international women's football have far less television and media coverage than
5888-419: The international women's association FIEFF . Some other major tournaments were the Women's World Invitational Tournament in Taiwan (1978–1987) and the Women's Mundialito in Japan and Italy (1981–1988). FIFA effectively ignored women's football prior to the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in China. FIFA's first officially-recognised women's international match is France–Netherlands (1971), albeit
5980-421: The late 1940s have written the name as St. James's Park . According to the club historian, the oldest memorabilia in the club museum refers to the ground as being pronounced without a second 's'. However, a match-day programme dating from 1896, reprinted in the match-day programme of a home match against Derby County (23 December 2007 ) depicts the stadium name as St. James's Park. Other sources also support
6072-482: The league in collaboration with the NWSL , announced a new international competition named Summer Cup . This competition will feature six teams from Liga MX Femenil that will compete against teams from the NWSL. The inaugural edition is scheduled to kick-off in July 2024. A 2014 FIFA report stated that at the beginning of the 21st century, women's football was growing in both popularity and participation, and more professional leagues were being launched worldwide. From
6164-510: The men's equivalent, but also generally have far lower average attendances. This discrepancy is on-going, while research indicates some viewers are not even able to distinguish between professional women's and men's football. Olympique Lyonnais main rivalry is with Paris Saint-Germain , with matches between the two teams sometimes referred as the "Classique féminin". Paris is OL's main contender for national titles, as they finished in second place of D1 Féminine seven times. Lyon had never lost
6256-465: The museum. It was not until 2008 (87 years later), that the FA issued an apology for banning women from the game of football. In 1970, the Torino-based Federation of Independent European Female Football (FIEFF) ran the 1970 Women's World Cup in Italy, supported by the Martini & Rossi strong wine manufacturers, and entirely without the involvement of FIFA . This event was at least partly played by clubs and won by Denmark. A second edition,
6348-428: The new management team concluded that stadium expansion was not a priority. For the start of the 2008–09 season, the away section was moved from the corner of the Leazes stand/Milburn stand to the other end of the Leazes stand, where it abuts the East stand, at the same upper level. The area of seats designated as the family enclosure were expanded, and certain corporate areas saw increased pricing. The first home game of
6440-428: The paneling surrounding the scoreboard. Newcastle United later stated on their website: "Supporter safety was of paramount importance." On 10 November 2011, Newcastle United announced that the stadium would officially be renamed Sports Direct Arena , as a temporary measure to "showcase the sponsorship opportunity to interested parties", whilst looking for a sponsor for possible future stadium re-branding. According to
6532-476: The period playing tsu chu . Annual matches being played in Midlothian , Scotland, are reported as early as the 1790s. In 1863, football governing bodies introduced standardized rules to prohibit violence on the pitch, making it more socially acceptable for women to play. The first match of an international character took place in 1881 at Hibernian Park in Edinburgh , part of a tour by Scotland and England teams. The Scottish Football Association recorded
6624-400: The present-day stadium's asymmetrical stands. Besides club football, St James' Park has also been used for international football , at the 2012 Olympics , for the rugby league Magic Weekend , rugby union World Cup , Premiership and England Test matches, charity football events, rock concerts, and as a set for film and reality television. The site of St James' Park was originally
6716-459: The profile of the league. Players during that era included Susanne Augustesen (Denmark), Rose Reilly and Edna Neillis (Scotland), Anne O'Brien (Ireland) and Concepcion Sánchez Freire (Spain). Sweden was the first to introduce a professional women's domestic league in 1988, the Damallsvenskan . In 1989, Japan became the first country to have a semi-professional women's football league,
6808-481: The project required 3-day shutdowns of work on home match days. 750 seats were lost during construction. During this expansion, executive boxes in the East Stand were demolished and replaced by seating blocks from pitch level up to the existing rows, in a mirror image of the Milburn Stand. The executive boxes were transferred to the new Milburn/Leazes complex, with more added to the Gallowgate End. During development,
6900-407: The relocation plan would not gain planning permission without a potentially long-running public enquiry. To quickly satisfy demand, the club decided to expand the current St James' Park instead. In 1997 Sir John Hall stepped down as chairman (remaining as a director until 2007, now life president of the club), and existing shareholder and board director Freddy Shepherd became chairman. Following
6992-467: The singing section is located in the "Strawberry Corner" (South East Corner, located next to the Strawberry Pub) - between the Gallowgate End & East Stand. The stadium's location is close to the city centre, 500 m roughly north of Central station , the main railway station of the city. The stadium is bordered by Strawberry Place behind the Gallowgate, Barrack Road in front of the main entrance,
7084-468: The stadium until the end of the 2021–22 season . Prior to the beginning of the 2024-25 season, the "Newcastle United" signage, located above the East Stand, was restored to the original font that was used prior to the Sports Direct sponsorship. St James' Park is spelt with James' featuring one s and an apostrophe mark, as seen on the signage of the St James' Park steps outside the entrance to
7176-432: The stadium with co owner Amanda Staveley claiming she was "looking forward" to removing the Sports Direct branding to get new sponsors with the signs being removed on 6 December. With the removal of the sponsor in the stadium former owner Mike Ashley would take legal action against Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi after Ashley alleged that both Staveley and Ghodoussi breached their agreement to continue to sponsor
7268-435: The stadium, and signage inside the adjacent Metro station. The use of an apostrophe is in contrast with the name of the Metro station itself, which is signed as St James Metro station , and with the street signs of the nearby St James Street and St James Terrace. Further, the use of one s and an apostrophe mark differs from the common convention of adding a second s to monosyllabic possessives ending in s, as
7360-417: The stand during building work, the builders uncovered the original steps of the old Gallowgate End stand, which had simply been covered up when the stadium was fully renovated in 1993. These steps were removed for Shearer's Bar. The completion of the redevelopment of the Gallowgate saw the creation of Shearer's Bar, an expanded club shop, a club museum and a new box office. It was announced on 2 April 2007 that
7452-423: The team. On 9 October 2012, payday loan company Wonga.com became Newcastle United's main commercial sponsor and purchased the stadium naming rights. They subsequently announced that the St James' Park name would be restored as part of the deal. Following the takeover of Newcastle United as part of Saudi Arabia's sports-washing programme, the new ownership would remove the Sports Direct sponsorship all over
7544-479: The title holders and Arsenal are the club with a record 14 wins. Despite tournament sponsorship by some companies, entering the cup actually costs clubs more than they get in prize money. In 2015, it was reported that even if Notts County were to win the tournament, the £8,600 winnings would leave them out of pocket. The winners of the Men's FA Cup in the same year received £1.8 million, with teams that did not even reach
7636-529: The upcoming 1966 World Cup following political disputes. In the late 1960s further attempts were made to develop the site, and the council proposed a multi-use sports development of St. James' Park. This was rejected as not financially viable. Plans were drawn up by the club for a move to a stadium in Gosforth , or even a groundshare with Sunderland A.F.C. in a new stadium on Wearside. These plans were withdrawn in 1971 after agreement to redevelop St James' Park
7728-545: The view of Leazes Park from Leazes Terrace, although this is now student accommodation. The 1998 redevelopment caused controversy when the club informed 4,000 season-ticket-holding fans that their seat prices would be increased to corporate rates, with the option of paying these or being moved to seats in the proposed expanded sections. Half of these fans were 'bondholders', who had paid £500 in 1994 which they asserted guaranteed them an option on their specific seat for 10 years. Some fans resisted, and after two high-court cases and
7820-563: The withdrawal of the Leazes Park plan, the club proposed expansion of St James' Park to over 52,000 capacity, through major construction of a second tier over the Milburn Stand, Leazes End and adjoining corner, adding to a structure that was itself just four years old. After a refusal by the Secretary of State to take the application to an enquiry, permission was obtained in July 1998. For minimal disruption to seating capacity during construction,
7912-472: Was achieved was a small roof over the Leazes Terrace side (Sir John Hall Stand). Floodlights were constructed in the 1950s, with the first match played using them held on 25 February 1953 against Celtic . Up until the 1960s planning difficulties continued, culminating in lack of development of the ground being cited as the reason for failure of Newcastle United to secure the right to host a group stage of
8004-413: Was demolished in 1986. Its replacement, the Milburn Stand, was named in honour of Jackie Milburn and opened in 1987. Further development was again shelved for lack of finance. Until the early 1990s the ground had achieved only modest expansion under various owners, with plans dogged by disputes and lack of finance due to poor on-field performances. In January 1992 businessman Sir John Hall , who had led
8096-480: Was finally reached, after mediation by the then Minister for Sport , Denis Howell . In 1972, work started on the East Stand, 50 years after it was last permitted to be developed. In 1978 the Leazes End was demolished, but relegation and financial difficulties meant the new stand was not built. Investigations following the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985 identified a need to replace the ageing West Stand, which
8188-586: Was further debilitated by nationwide bans which often resembled the English FA's measures. The German Football Association banned women's football from 1955 until 1970. Women's football was also banned in France from 1941 to 1970. In Brazil, the Vargas regime and the military dictatorship legally prohibited women and girls from playing football from 1941 to 1979. Following the FA ban on women's teams on 5 December 1921,
8280-592: Was historically part of the Town Moor , owned by the Freemen of Newcastle, and protected by the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Town Moor Act 1988 . The City council initially invited the planning proposal amid suggestions that the club might move to a site in Gateshead , a 75,000-seat stadium next to Gateshead International Stadium , but it led to political debate and opposition. A pressure group "No Business on
8372-417: Was initiated in 1997 and evolved to the Women's Super League in 2004. From 2011 to 2014, the league was named the Women's National Football League. The Indian Women's League was launched in 2016. The country has held the top-tier tournament, Indian Women's Football Championship , since 1991. In 1985, the United States women's national soccer team was formed. Following the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup ,
8464-399: Was pointed out the road sign of that street, and that of the adjacent St James Terrace, did not feature apostrophes. The BBC stated that both local newspapers The Evening Chronicle and The Journal write the name with a second 's', reinstating it partially in response to reader complaints after a period of publishing stories without it. The club insisted the name is pronounced without
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