Sisters doing it for themselves: the rich history of women's football in Scotland from the 1960s to 2020

Abstract

Women’s football has provided a valuable source of investigation for the social sciences and in particular sports history and gender studies. Yet within this growing body of academic work, the study and analysis of the ‘Scottish experience’ has been limited. This article provides an overview of the development of women’s football in Scotland from 1960 onwards, charting the journey from ad hoc matches with inadequate facilities to record participation levels following the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019TM. It draws on feminist debates concerning sports history and the erasure of women from the narrative to situate the current lack of awareness of women’s long involvement in football in relation to the dominant white male heteronormative discourse of the football community in Scotland. The core research information is obtained from oral history interviews with key players, coaches and administrators and archive material from Scottish Women’s Football, the Scottish Football Museum and private collections. Together these sources reveal the determination of the women who ignored the barriers placed in their way, persisted in playing the game they loved and worked tirelessly to develop and promote women’s football in Scotland.