Comic 'Le Match du Siècle' Recovers Lost History of Women's Football from WWI to 1970s Ban

Julie Billault and Seb Piquet's graphic novel 'Le Match du Siècle' uncovers the erased history of women's football, which flourished during World War I when women replaced men in factories and on pitches. Public enthusiasm peaked on March 23, 1920, when a match between Liverpool's women's team and Scottish opponents drew over 50,000 spectators inside Goodison Park and 15,000 outside. Despite this popularity, the English Football Federation imposed a ban shortly after the war ended, prohibiting women from using federation infrastructure and effectively barring them from stadiums and coaches. This restriction lasted until the 1970s, marginalizing female players for five decades. Billault notes the ban resulted from unexpected competition with men's football and changing economic conditions, as charity matches for soldiers lost purpose post-war. The comic traces how women used football not just as sport but as social practice within the labor movement, advancing workers' rights through unclaimed feminism. While today girls in France and England can more easily join teams, Billault observes persistent obstacles at higher levels, partly because current federation leaders grew up when women were excluded from the sport's landscape.