Looking forwards to Spring 2022

We normally try and get the blog out early in the month but February has been a really busy time for jjheritage. So what have we been up to? Our main project has been the first major cultural programme for a Women’s Euros in the UK. We are also making plans for International Women’s Day 2022. Many of the events are online and free to join.

The History and Heritage programme has been funded by The FA, UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 host cities, and The National Lottery #NationalLotteryHeritageFund

Nine UEFA Women’s EURO host cities will take part during Summer 2022. Jean and Joanna are working with host cities to unearth the hidden stories of pioneering women and girl football players, referees, coaches, senior leaders and role models. You can follow Jean on Twitter @JeanMWilliams and her new book is now available A History of Women’s Football (Pen and Sword) summarises what we know so far.

This is the first major cultural programme for a Women’s Euros in the UK and it is on a grand scale, getting more women and girls playing football than ever before. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £500,000 to a programme which will record the hidden history of women’s football and launch a celebration of the game, its players, and communities, alongside the UEFA Women’s EURO this summer. In addition to the National Lottery funding, The FA and host cities have contributed nearly £600,000 to the project, making a total of £1,060,580.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund uses money raised by the National Lottery, to Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. You can Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

In partnership with The FA and led by Rotherham Council and Milton Keynes Council, the National Lottery funded programme aims to challenge the common perception of women’s football being ‘new’. Based on Jean’s ongoing research across the host cities, we hope to change perceptions of both what has been called, ‘the English game’ and the ‘People’s Game.’ The project will particularly explore the role of the LGBTQ+ community in developing and leading the women’s game and football culture more broadly. You can read more about our work on Manchester Corinthians, and other teams playing during the fifty year ban on women’s football from 1921 to 1969 here. 

In January and February 2022 jjheritage began our series of meetings with the nine host cities, having already worked with Brighton since 2021. The nine UEFA Women’s EURO host cities (Brighton & Hove, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Rotherham, Sheffield, Southampton, Trafford and Wigan & Leigh) will take part in a summer of exhibitions, memory activity, film screenings, oral histories and community activities.

In each city the activities will be led by:

• Brighton & Hove – Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust

• London – London Boroughs of Brent and Hounslow, Gunnersbury Park Museum, Wembley Park, and the GLA

• Manchester – National Football Museum

• Milton Keynes – Milton Keynes Council

• Rotherham – Rotherham Council

• Sheffield – Sheffield City Council

• Southampton – Southampton City Council

• Trafford – Trafford Council

• Wigan & Leigh – Wigan Council

Our first event is 2 March Brunel Methods Masterclass: oral histories, gender and sport 2.30-4.30

This aims to tell the untold story of women in sport and to examine oral history as a method pioneered by women academics, in uncovering stories that the archive does not hold. This Masterclass will explore the methodological approaches, potentials, pitfalls and implications of oral histories.

The historic development of sport as a male-preserve has contributed to the relational marginalisation of women in sport and women academics in sport history. Only 25% of female professors in history departments are women, in spite of the high numbers of female undergraduates studying for history degrees.

Many women around the world do not have the literacy skills to create written records, and museums and archives often do not value their stories to the same extent as men. Oral history provides an opportunity for women to construct a record of their identities, stories and lived experiences, and subsequently empowers them to bring their experiences to the historical record. Co-creating oral histories with women, and men, involved in women’s sport may provide a more accessible and inclusive method of documenting lived experience. Regardless of background and education, oral history has the potential power to reveal untold stories of women in sport for those able to speak.

This Brunel Methods Masterclass will explore the methodological approaches, potentials, pitfalls and implications of uncovering untold stories of women in sport through oral history. It will provoke thought and discussion on how researchers navigate oral history methods and consider why oral history methods are significant for understanding the lives of diverse women in sport. The aims of this masterclass are to develop understanding of oral history methods and discuss the contribution of such methods for advancing knowledge about women in sport. Jean will be speaking with Dr Lydia Furse and Dr Raf Nicholson.

On 8 March Jean will be presenting at the European Parliament Liaison Office in the UK, chairing the panel Gamechangers: 

This July, England will be hosting the UEFA Women’s EURO, with 31 matches played across 26 days by 16 competing teams. The tournament plans to be a ticket selling record-breaker and leave a lasting legacy of more women and girls of all ages playing the beautiful game. The European Parliament’s office in London honours the pioneers of the women’s international game. A panel of ground-breaking women footballers, who played in England, Scotland, Italy, France and Sweden, will be celebrated for their decades of play, spanning from the late 1950s through to the mid-90s.

Speakers include Pia SUNDHAGE, head coach of the Brazil national women’s team, moving to Brazil in 2019 after seven years coaching the Swedish National Team, winning Olympic Silver in 2016. Previously, Sundhage was the head coach of the United States women's national team from 2008 to 2012 and led the team to two Olympic gold medals and a silver medal at the World Cup. Pia’s playing career spanned from 1978 to 1999 playing for teams in Sweden and Italy. She was part of the winning Swedish national team in the inaugural Women’s EURO in 1984.

Kerry DAVIS represented England at the inaugural women's Euros in 1984, which they narrowly lost on penalties over a two-leg final to Sweden. This was England women's highest result until 2009. She continued to play internationally for England (82 caps in total) and was their top scorer until 2012.

Tomasz FRANKOWSKI MEP is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), who was elected in 2019 for the Civic Platform party. He currently sits on the Education and Culture Committee. A former professional footballer, he played as a striker with 168 goals in 302 matches for the team Ekstraklasa, and is the Polish league's third highest all-time scorer. He also played in France, Spain and the UK (for Wolverhampton Wanderers). Tomasz is a co-chair of the Sports Group in the European Parliament.

Margaret Shepherd nee Taylor (Tiny), had a playing career spanning 1967-73 with the Manchester Corinthians. This took her across all of the UK and to France where she was part of the winning team for the Reims Trophy, beating Juventus in the final in July 1970. The team were also winners of the Deal tournament twice.

Margaret Whitworth (Whitty), also played for the Corinthians, from 1958-73. During this time, she played in the Netherlands, South America, Italy, Tunisia, France and all over the UK, starting her touring career aged just 14. The South America tour was particularly pioneering for its time.

The history of women’s football is often hidden, yet evidence shows the transfer of female players between England and France as early as the 1920s. The event will focus on this movement and migration of players and ideas across Europe, either side of the lifting of the (English) ban on the women’s game in 1971.

No matter who you’ll be cheering on this summer, this is an opportunity to reflect on the past, enjoy the achievements of a group of very determined women, and share your hopes and dreams for the future of women in sport.

10 March 2022 An International Symposium on Football Fandom, Women and Inequalities is led by Dr Stacey Pope and Dr Rachel Allison as part of Stacey’s AHRC funded project on women sports fans (£244k). This project has two main programmes of work. Firstly, it focuses on the experiences of women football fans in Britain from the 1950s to the present day, using the men’s Newcastle United Football Club as a case study. The second part is focused upon international women’s football. This is investigating women’s fandom as well as media coverage of women’s football in a ‘new age’ of women’ sport. Stacey’s research is aligned to the Sporting Lives Theme Group. Jean will present on the heritage and arts programme for the Women’s Euros 2022, and how the plans will engage new audiences for football, but also for arts and heritage. 

To register for the event on 10 March click here