89-570: Rocío Ruiz Molinero is a Spanish former footballer who played mostly as a defender . Ruiz progressed through the academy at Atlético Madrid and played as a defender. In 2010, while still at Atlético, she appeared in El Mundo ' s "Uno de Seis Millones" special feature. In 2012, following issues with her foot while playing for Rayo Vallecano , she retired from football at the age of 21. She stated her intention to go into coaching and to continue working within football. Her former club Atlético Madrid sent
178-808: 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
267-571: 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
356-467: 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,
445-470: A complete overhaul of the squad that summer, letting popular players such as Robbie Dale leave. After initial excitement following a good pre-season, the performances on the pitch were extremely poor. However Blyth just got into the FA Cup 1st round after beating Droylsden 2–1 at home in the 4th qualifying round replay before losing 2–0 to rivals Gateshead . Following defeat by FC Halifax Town Steve Cuggy left
534-538: A contract extension for the 2013–14 season. That summer Wade brought in promising youngsters including Rob Nolan and Dean Holmes from North Shields . In early August Arran Wearmouth signed from Bishop Auckland for a fee of £1500. In the 2014–15 season the Spartans won the Northumberland Senior Cup. In 2014 , the Spartans once again went all the way from the first qualifying round into the third round proper. In
623-585: 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
712-467: A few days later by his second, the Northumberland Senior Cup, whose final was a replay of the previous year's, this time ending in a 3–2 win for the Spartans. The success achieved by the club in the 2016–17 season meant that the Spartans were once again promoted to the National League North , five years after their relegation in 2012. In late 2018, Blyth Spartans made worldwide news for signing
801-534: A home tie with Arsenal . The 1977–78 FA Cup run qualified Blyth to compete for the 1978 Debenhams Cup , a two-legged tie played between the two teams from outside the top two divisions of the English football pyramid who had progressed furthest in the FA Cup. Blyth again faced Wrexham and triumphed tie 3–2 on aggregate, having first won 2–1 away in Wales and drawing 1–1 at home in the return fixture. The match at Croft Park
890-561: A last-minute winner. Following this success the executive looked firstly to John Charlton (son of Jack Charlton ) followed by Paul Baker as team managers but they were unable to continue this success, disappointing fans. Harry Dunn was appointed as manager for the second time in October 2004. In 2005–06 Dunn and his assistant Graham Fenton led the Spartans to win the Northern Premier League Premier Division as well as
979-436: A mere 11. The run was ended by fellow title contenders (and ultimately second-place finishers and play-off winners) Spennymoor . They clinched the league title at home against Halesowen Town with three games to spare. Blyth finished in first place with 101 points, two more than the previous season and 14 ahead of the runners-up. The Evo Stik Northern Premier League title was Armstrong's first title as manager, followed just
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#17330945519261068-632: A message of support following the announcement of her retirement, citing her being part of their team that won promotion to the Primera División in 2006 as a career highlight. As an under-19 international she played in the 2008 U-19 European Championship . This biographical article related to women's association football in Spain is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Women%27s soccer Women's association football , more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer ,
1157-518: 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,
1246-401: A preview of what the rest of the season would look like for Blyth, as the Spartans would never again in the 2016–17 play three consecutive games without a win. In fact, they managed two 12-game runs without recording a single defeat. In the first one, which lasted from the beginning of 2017 until the dying days of February, the Spartans won all of their twelve games, scoring 44 goals and conceding
1335-559: A replay at St James' Park . In the beginning, the club played only friendly matches before joining the East Northumberland League in 1901. The first recorded honour was a league success in 1901 followed by further victories in 1905–06 and 1906–07. The club then joined the Northern Football Alliance , remaining there for six seasons winning the league in 1908–09 and 1912–13. In 1913 the club moved upward joining
1424-726: 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 ,
1513-488: A sponsorship deal with North Korean travel company Visit North Korea, the move attracted controversy from some commentators due to the country's human rights record. On 1 June 2019, Blyth Spartans announced the appointment of former Newcastle United and Sunderland midfielder Lee Clark as their new manager. Clark has past Football League experience managing the likes of Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town . Under Clark, Spartans lost their first four league matches of
1602-485: 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
1691-500: A tie against their North East neighbours) where they drew 1–1. Blyth would have won the tie but for an unusual sequence when referee Alf Grey ordered a Wrexham corner retaken owing to a technical infringement, enabling Dixie McNeil to score a very late equaliser for the Welsh club. The replay took place at Newcastle United's St James' Park where, watched by a crowd of 42,167, Blyth eventually went out, losing 2–1, meaning they missed out on
1780-593: A wheelchair enclosure were also added. Further developments have been made to meet full Conference North criteria. These developments include extending the Port of Blyth main stand roof to cover the bottom tier which has had seats installed, building a roof over the Plessey Road terrace, providing cover for 1100, and building three new turnstiles at the Princess Louise Road end. Following the 2008–09 FA Cup run, some of
1869-554: 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
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#17330945519261958-452: 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
2047-484: 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
2136-484: 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
2225-613: 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
2314-475: 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
2403-530: 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
2492-564: 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
2581-588: 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
2670-715: 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
2759-679: The Stadium of Light . After two successful campaigns to preserve Conference North status, the 2008–09 season saw the end of Harry Dunn's second spell at Croft Park. No time was wasted in appointing his successor and on 9 May former Hartlepool United, Darlington & Sheffield United Reserves Manager Mick Tait took up the post for his second spell in charge at Croft Park. It was announced in May 2011 that then Whitley Bay assistant manager Steve Cuggy would take over as manager. He along with his assistant Gavin Fell made
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2848-508: 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
2937-611: 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,
3026-593: 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
3115-540: The 2014–15 FA Cup. The home crowd of 1,763 saw a performance that at times brought doubts as to which team was two levels above the other. Braces from Dale and Maguire left the fans delighted with a 4–1 win that would take Blyth to the Second Round Proper for the fourteenth time in their history. In the second round proper, Blyth travelled along the North Coast to Hartlepool United . The League Two side controlled
3204-434: The 2015–16 season, despite frustrating displays in almost every cup competition, the Spartans proved to be the dominant side in their league. However, even having reached the impressive 99-point mark, they were beaten to the title by Darlington 1883 and lost the play-off semi-final to Workington A.F.C. which ended 4–3 to the away team. Ten days later, Blyth lost 4–3 again, this time to Northern League side North Shields in
3293-671: 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 ,
3382-522: The Blues, Blyth took control of the match and Dale scored twice in the first half. Blyth had a 2–0 lead at the interval and hopes for another Spartans’ FA Cup upset were gigantic. Luís Figo famously started to follow the official Blyth Spartans Twitter feed. However, Birmingham would go on to score three goals in six minutes to end the North East side's hopes of reaching the fourth round for the second time. In
3471-509: The Championship on 10 occasions and being runners up 5 times. Blyth reached the fifth round of the FA Cup in 1977–78 . Having beaten Chesterfield and another non-league side, Enfield F.C. , in the second and third rounds respectively, they managed to beat Stoke City (who had recently been relegated from the top flight) in the fourth round. The club were then drawn to play away at Wrexham (whose victory over Newcastle United denied Spartans
3560-508: 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
3649-644: 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
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3738-534: 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,
3827-594: 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
3916-452: The FA Cup & the FA Trophy , Cassidy was sacked. In October under caretaker manager Paddy Atkinson poor performance continued including an 8–1 away defeat to Worksop Town . On 8 March Paddy Atkinson resigned. On 12 March 2013 it was announced that a further caretaker manager, Tom Wade, would be in post until the end of the season. After some improved results, in early April Wade was given
4005-492: 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
4094-616: 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
4183-644: The Northern Premier League Chairman's Cup and the Peter Swailes Memorial Shield, and with it promotion to the Conference North. In their first season in the Conference North, Blyth cemented themselves in the top half of the table whilst even enjoying a brief stint in 1st place. The season ended with Blyth narrowly missing out on a playoff position on the final day finishing 7th. However the next season, Blyth found themselves at
4272-843: The Northern Premier League was memorable, winning the First Division Championship and the Unifilla First Division League Cup. Since gaining promotion the club has held its own in the Premier division, finishing 6th and 7th in its first two seasons as well as lifting the President's Cup defeating former Conference side Runcorn in the final. In 1997–98 , under the managership of John Burridge , Blyth travelled to Second Division side Blackpool . A memorable first round proper game saw Blackpool run out 4–3 winners with
4361-512: The Northumberland Senior Cup Final at St. James's Park . After a 4–2 home defeat to Morpeth Town in the 2016–17 FA Cup , Wade resigned. Former professional footballer Alun Armstrong took over the managerial position. The club announced on 22 September 2016 that former Ipswich Town striker Alun Armstrong was appointed as manager following Wade's resignation. His first three games as manager weren't pretty but also weren't
4450-618: 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
4539-414: The club in December. Later that month, former Newcastle United player Tommy Cassidy took charge but the poor performances continued. Finally, on 24 March 2012, Blyth Spartans had their first ever relegation confirmed after a 1–0 home defeat to Gloucester City . The following pre-season saw Blyth lose quality players who were not replaced. The season started with mixed results and after very early exits from
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#17330945519264628-409: The club was taken over by Irfan Liaquat. Following the takeover, there was no significant upturn in form and the club were relegated at the end of the 2023–24 season . On 16 October 2024, chairman Liaquat announced his intentions to sell the club with immediate effect, citing ongoing boycotts and protests as a key factor in his decision. The following day, the Northern Premier League announced that
4717-571: The club were keen to progress up the league pyramid and a successful push ended with promotion to the Northern Premier League in the 1993–94 season. Blyth's next memorable cup run came in their first season as a Northern Premier League Premier Division club in 1995–96 , when they travelled to high flying Division Three side Bury and won 2–0. In the second round, Blyth again were on their travels this time to Division Two side Stockport County where they lost 2–0. The club's first season in
4806-504: The club's two upcoming fixtures against Gainsborough Trinity and FC United of Manchester had been postponed due to the league having concerns over certain operational requirements not being in place. On 31 October 2024, the club announced that they had been taken over by a newly former Community Interest Company, "Blyth Spartans CIC 2024", led by local businessman Martin Trinder. During the First World War women working in factories and on
4895-465: 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),
4984-601: The docks played football, including a team in the Spartans' colours and using their ground, variously known as the Blyth Spartan Ladies FC and the Blyth Spartans Munitionettes, with Bella Reay as the star player. The team was never beaten, playing 30 matches, winning 26 and drawing 4. They continued until 1921 when women's football was banned from its grounds by the FA In 2001 a Blyth Spartans Ladies team
5073-455: The first game the result finished 4–2 to Newcastle United. In 2003 Croft Park underwent an extensive redevelopment which saw much of the ash terracing levelled and replaced with concrete terracing. New dugouts and a wheelchair enclosure were also added, earlier work carried out had seen two new stairways added to improve access to the seating tier of the Main Stand. These replaced the old central stairway which would often cause congestion next to
5162-424: 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,
5251-425: The first qualifying round, Blyth drew 0–0 at Darlington 1883 and won 3–0 at home with a goal from Robbie Dale and a brace from Dan Maguire. Blyth were then drawn to Skelmersdale United away. Despite a poor league record, Blyth went on rampage to win 4–1. The Green Army had to once again travel to watch the Spartans as they were drawn away at Mickleover Sports . After 90 minutes of play during which it seemed there
5340-399: The first round proper getting more than the women's winners. Blyth Spartans Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an association football club based in Blyth, Northumberland . They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and play at Croft Park . They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who
5429-440: The fourth and fifth rounds once. Notable FA Cup games Blyth play their home games at Croft Park , which was opened by Mrs Clarke of Bellister Castle , Haltwhistle on 1 September 1909. The first match was a friendly against Newcastle United which ended in a 4–2 defeat. In 2003 Croft Park underwent an extensive redevelopment which saw much of the ash terracing levelled and replaced with concrete terracing. New dugouts and
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#17330945519265518-457: The game in the first half but a magnificent free-kick by Turnbull and yet another ninetieth-minute goal by Jarrett Rivers turned the game around for Blyth. The memorable upset was shown live on the BBC . Blyth were drawn at home against Birmingham City , which was controversially described by Stephen Turnbull as "a bit of an anti-climax", for him and every Spartans supporter hoped for a Premier League club. After two Nikola Žigić chances for
5607-399: 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
5696-448: 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
5785-419: 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
5874-482: 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
5963-418: The leagues folded. The early 1960s saw the revival of the North Eastern League with the club doing quite well. However the league suffered many problems and eventually folded for good. The club was now at a loss for a suitable semi-professional league and in 1964 decided to turn amateur and join the ranks of the Northern League . During the 29 years the club were members their record was second to none, winning
6052-510: 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
6141-419: The money raised was spent on covering the Kingsway Terrace. For the first time Croft Park is now covered on all four sides. The pitch has also been moved by a metre to improve the view from the terraces. And the old goal posts have been taken down and replaced with new modern equipment. To celebrate Croft Park's centenary Blyth played a Newcastle United side, the team who provided its first opposition. Just like
6230-465: 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,
6319-417: The occasion as Blyth ran out comfortable 3–1 winners. The second round saw Blyth travel to League Two strugglers AFC Bournemouth , who included Darren Anderton amongst their players. A hard-fought 0–0 draw on the south coast saw Blyth take Bournemouth back to Croft Park, where Ged Dalton put them through to the third round with a last-minute winner. Both games were shown live on Setanta Sports . In
6408-455: The one over the Plessey End. The ageing West stand (sponsored by Cramlington Caravans) is also being refurbished to extend its life span by another 6 years. Wheelchair Enclosure Small covered enclosure provided by Artic Windows. Has space for three wheelchairs and is elevated to provide good views of the pitch. Access is via a ramp and is located next to the disabled toilets. Located just to
6497-455: The opposite end of the table although some wins towards the end of the season (including a 2–0 win against future Champions, Kettering Town) saw Blyth preserve their Conference North status. The third season was a similar story with Blyth struggling for much of the season but wins towards the end of the season again avoided relegation. A relatively comfortable 15th-place finish did not reflect the battle against relegation which had preceded it. It
6586-528: 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
6675-459: 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,
6764-608: The ranks of the semi professionals in the North Eastern League and remained there until this league folded in 1958. The fierce competition meant that honours were few and far between. However they won the league in the 1936–37 season and the league cup in 1950 and again in 1955. After the demise of the North Eastern League the club tried their luck in the Midland League and Northern Counties League , both ending when
6853-502: The season, before picking up a point at Bradford Park Avenue. On 16 August 2022, former South Shields manager Graham Fenton was appointed as the club's first team manager on a two-year deal. Having kept Blyth in the National League North in the previous season, Fenton was dismissed on 28 December 2023. After being named as the interim manager, Jon Shaw was named as the permanent manager the following day. In February 2024,
6942-624: The side of the Main Stand. Port of Blyth (Main) Stand Two tier all seater stand and mostly under cover (about 30 seats in the open and just over 530 covered), runs about a quarter the pitch length. Houses the changing rooms, kit room, sponsors' lounge, study support centre, players' lounge, directors' box, press seating and offices. Tynetec Stand Southernmost stand and covered, has the formerly imposing Patterson House residential care home just behind it. Can hold about 1,200 on eight steps of terracing. Formerly sponsored by Carlsberg (2007–2010), it
7031-437: The team tunnel after full-time. Even before this the Main Stand has seen improvements with the old wooden benches replaced with plastic seats obtained from Newcastle United . At the end of the 2006–07 season Croft Park underwent further developments to meet full Conference North criteria. These developments include extending the Port of Blyth main stand roof to cover the bottom tier which then had seats installed, and to ensure
7120-432: The third round, Blyth played Premier League opposition competitively for the first time in their history when they welcomed Blackburn Rovers to Croft Park. In a game again covered live by Setanta Sports , Blyth fell to a 1–0 defeat with the only goal coming via a direct free kick from Chilean player of the year Carlos Villanueva in the 59th minute. A win would have ensured a tie with North East neighbours Sunderland at
7209-479: 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
7298-452: The views from these seats are unhindered the dugouts were repositioned at the side of the stand. Along with this a roof was erected over the Plessey Road terrace providing cover for about 1,200. This stand is now sponsored by Carlsberg . Three new turnstiles were also built at the Croftway end. Phase Two was completed in 2009 with another new roof added over the Croftway terrace similar to
7387-403: Was 11 years before Blyth reached the 1st round again, but finally in 2008–09 they hit the cup trail again. Qualifying round wins against Whitby Town , Buxton and Sheffield FC saw Blyth reach the first round for the first time since 1997. A home tie against League Two promotion chasers Shrewsbury Town saw Croft Park host League opposition for the first time since 1981. The result matched
7476-546: Was again formed, but despite considerable success closed in 2009. The team had won the Northumberland Football Association Women's Cup Final in May 2008, scoring 4–2 against Whitley Bay Ladies. A significant problem was lack of financial support for the team to travel to matches. Blyth Spartans have reached the first round proper of the FA Cup 31 times; the second round 14 times; the third round 4 times,
7565-586: 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,
7654-469: Was going to be a replay at Croft Park, Jarrett Rivers scored an injury time goal to send the Spartans into the fourth qualifying round. The draw away at Leek Town meant another long trip for the Blyth supporters. Blyth won 4–3 after a cracking game which included an injury time penalty miss by Leek's Kinsey. In the first round proper, Blyth were drawn at home to Altrincham . That was their first home draw in
7743-417: 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 ,
7832-537: Was the club's first secretary before forming a practice as a distinguished physician in London's Harley Street . He thought it appropriate to name the team after the Greek Spartan army in the hope that the players would give their all as they went into 'battle' on the field of play. The club is most notable for its 1977–78 FA Cup campaign, in which they went all the way to the fifth round, eventually losing to Wrexham in
7921-456: Was the final game ever played in the short-lived existence of the Debenhams Cup and Blyth therefore remain current holders of the cup. The trophy was returned to Croft Park in 2019 having been lost at Debenhams head offices for 41 years. In 1980, Blyth played Hull City in the second round which saw two replays, the latter of which was played at Leeds United 's Elland Road . A new regime at
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