Dick, Kerr's Ladies F.C.

Dick, Kerr's Ladies F.C. was one of the earliest known women's association football teams in England. The team remained in existence for over 48 years from 1917 to 1965 playing 828 games, winning 758, drawing 46, and losing 24. During its early years, matches attracted anywhere from 4,000 to over 50,000 spectators per match. In 1920, Dick, Kerr's Ladies defeated a French side 2–0 in front of 25,000 people that went down in history as the first international women's association football game. The team faced strong opposition by the Football Association (FA), who banned the women from using fields and stadiums controlled by FA-affiliated clubs for 50 years (the rule was finally repealed in 1971).

Dick, Kerr's Ladies F.C. was founded in Preston, Lancashire, England as a World War I-era works team for the company, Dick, Kerr & Co. The women on the team had joined the company in 1914 to help produce ammunition for the war. Although women had initially been discouraged from playing football, it was believed that such organised sporting activity would be good for morale in wartime factories and would aid production, so competitive sport was encouraged.

During a period of low-production at the factory in October 1917, women workers joined the apprentices in the factory yard for informal football matches during their tea and lunch breaks. After beating the men of the factory in an informal game, the women of Dick, Kerr's formed a team, under the management of office worker, Alfred Frankland. The team drew strong crowds from the beginning; Dick, Kerr's beat Arundel Coulthard Factory 4–0 in front of a crowd of 10,000 on Christmas Day 1917 at Deepdale.

Dick, Kerr's played in charity fixtures against similar teams around the country and raised money for injured servicemen during and after the war. The Daily Post wrote, "Dick, Kerr's were not long in showing that they suffered less than their opponents from stage fright, and they had a better all-round understanding of the game. Their forward work, indeed, was often surprisingly good, one or two of the ladies showing quite admirable ball control." Players were paid 10 shillings a game by Dick, Kerr & Co. to cover their expenses.

The team played the first women's international in 1920 against France. The French team was from Paris and was led by the great patron of Women's sport in France, Alice Milliat.

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