The development of women’s football: under what conditions? – an introduction

Abstract

ABSTRACT This special issue, entitled The development of women's football: under what conditions? focuses on the political, sociological and cultural issues surrounding women's access to football. The articles that make up the book examine the conditions for the feminisation of a universal sport, from its genesis to the current effects of its institutionalisation and (inter)national recognition. Based on the first three articles, the background shows that the process, which began in the last century, is a complex one, especially if it is analysed through the prism of different spaces, timescales and backgrounds: the history of women's football, in itself, is far from uniform. In the light of this heritage, the detailed analysis of national contexts proposed in the last three articles provides a contextualised and nuanced interpretation of the differentiated development of women's football and its consequences for the game.