Women's football in France
France lineup ahead of a 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification match against Austria
CountryFrance
Governing bodyFrench Football Federation
National team(s)Women's national team
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions
Champions League
FIFA Women's World Cup (National Team)
European Championship (National Team)
Olympics (National Team)

Women's football in France is run by the French Football Federation.[1] As such the national team are eligible to play in the World Cup and the European Championship, whilst clubs can enter the UEFA Women's Champions League. The earliest known women's football match involving the French was a women's French team versus the Dick, Kerr's Ladies team from Preston, played at Goodison Park, Liverpool on Boxing Day 1920, attracted a crowd of 53,000 with another 10–15,000 reportedly turned away because the ground was full.[2][3]

Although popular amongst girls, many experience prejudice and discrimination.[4][5][6]

History

In 1919 the Fédération des sociétés féminines sportives de France (FSFSF), began organising women's football until 1933, when French Football Federation formally banned women's football.[7] In 1940 the Vichy government upheld the ban of women's football.[8] The ban was overturned in March 1970.[9]

Club football

As of 2021 the pyramid consists of four tiers: The top tier, then Division 2 which is split into two groups, followed by Division 3 which is split into four groups, which is then are fed from many Tier 4 regional leagues.

Division 1 Féminine was created in 1918 and placed under the aegis of the Fédération des Sociétés Féminines Sportives de France (FSFSF), a women's football organization led by pioneer Alice Milliat. The competition was organized for fourteen consecutive years until in 1932 women's football was banned. The most successful club during this period was by far Fémina Sports Paris with 12 titles. En Avant Paris captured two titles whilst Les Sportives de Paris won the remaining campaign.

In 1975 the women's football was officially rehabilitated and Division 1 Féminine returned to be organized thanks to the funds made available by the Fédération Française de Football (FFF).[10] With the 2009-2010 season it went to professionalism,[11] being the contracts previously signed semi-professional. Until the 1991–92 season, the championship included a first group stage followed by a direct elimination phase with a final to decree the winning team of the title. Starting from the 1992–93 season they went to an Italian group with round and back bets. Over the years there has been an alternation between the winning teams of the championship. In the 1970s, the Stade de Reims won the first three championships and in all five titles over eight years, from 1974 to 1982. The 1980s saw the dominance of the VGA Saint-Maur, able to win six titles between 1983 and 1990, four consecutive years between 1985 and 1988. In the 1990s there was an alternation in the wins of the Lyon-Juvisy championship before the four consecutive titles won by Toulouse between 1999 and 2002. From 2007 to 2018, Division 1 Féminine saw Lyon dominate and win twelve consecutive championships.[12] This has made Lyon the most successful side since 1975 with 14 titles, followed by VGA Saint-Maur and Paris FC with six apiece.

Since the 2019-20 season France has seen the top 3 teams in Division 1 qualify for UEFA Women's Champions League tournament, before which two teams were sent. Lyon are the most successful team in the history of the tournament with seven wins and two other final appearances (3 more than German side Frankfurt).[13] The other French side to have reached the final are PSG who have appeared twice without victory.

The national cup competition, the Coupe de France féminine, was first contested in 2002.[14] Lyon have won 9 of the 19 finals, with only Montpellier (3), Lyon and PSG (2) the other only clubs to have won more than once. A total of 124 clubs took part in the 2020-21 tournament, participation of which is voluntary for clubs at Tier 4 level. The super cup, between the league and cup winners, is named Trophee des Championnes Féminin.

National leagues

Until 2022–23 :

Level League(s)/Division(s)
1 Division 1 Féminine
12 clubs
2 Division 2 Féminine
Groupe A (12 clubs)		 Division 2 Féminine
Groupe B (12 clubs)
3 Division 3 Féminine
Groupe A (10 clubs)		 Division 3 Féminine
Groupe B (10 clubs)		 Division 3 Féminine
Groupe C (10 clubs)		 Division 3 Féminine
Groupe D (10 clubs)
4 Alsace Honneur, Aquitaine Honneur, Atlantique Honneur, Auvergne Honneur, Lower Normandy Honneur, Burgundy Honneur, Brittany Honneur, Centre Honneur, Centre-Ouest Honneur, Champagne-Ardenne Honneur, Corsica Honneur, Franche-Comté Honneur, Languedoc-Roussillon Honneur, Lorraine Honneur, Maine Honneur, Provence Honneur, Midi-Pyrénées Honneur, Nord-Pas-de-Calais Honneur, Upper Normandy Honneur, Paris Honneur, Picardy Honneur, Rhône-Alpes Honneur

From 2023–24 onwards :

Level League(s)/Division(s)
1 Division 1 Féminine
12 clubs
2 Division 2 Féminine
12 clubs

3

 Division 3 Féminine
24 clubs divided into 2 groups
Group A
12 clubs		 Group B
12 clubs
4 Alsace Honneur, Aquitaine Honneur, Atlantique Honneur, Auvergne Honneur, Lower Normandy Honneur, Burgundy Honneur, Brittany Honneur, Centre Honneur, Centre-Ouest Honneur, Champagne-Ardenne Honneur, Corsica Honneur, Franche-Comté Honneur, Languedoc-Roussillon Honneur, Lorraine Honneur, Maine Honneur, Provence Honneur, Midi-Pyrénées Honneur, Nord-Pas-de-Calais Honneur, Upper Normandy Honneur, Paris Honneur, Picardy Honneur, Rhône-Alpes Honneur

National team

On 17 April 1971, the French team played the first women's international football match recognized by FIFA against the Netherlands with Marie-Claire Caron-Harant and Jocelyne Ratignier scoring.[15] The match took place in Hazebrouck, France and resulted in a 4–0 win for France.[16]

The national team, who do not have a permanent home stadium, have qualified for the World Cup four times, firstly in 2003. Their most successful campaign came in 2011 where they reached the semi-finals. On the European stage they have qualified for every UEFA Women's Championship since 1997,[17] and they have reached the quarter-final three times (2009, 2013, 2017). They have appeared twice at the Summer Olympics in 2012 and 2016. Their highest FIFA ranking was 3rd whilst in September 2009 they hit their lowest, 10th.

Their most capped player is Sandrine Soubeyrand with 198 appearances between 1997 and 2013. Their most prolific goalscorer is current player Eugénie Le Sommer who has scored 86 since her debut in 2009. Since 1987 there have been seven managers: Aimé Mignot (1987–1997), Élisabeth Loisel (1997–2007), Bruno Bini (2007–2013), Philippe Bergeroo (2013–2016), Olivier Echouafni (2016–2017), Corinne Diacre (2017–2023), Hervé Renard (2023–present).

The Under 19 team have appeared in the FIFA U-20 World Cup seven times since debuting in 2002. Their best result was a runners up spot in 2016. In the UEFA Under-19 Championship they have claimed the title at total of five times, whilst reaching the semi-finals a further five times. There is also an Under 17 side whose biggest success was winning the World Cup in 2012.[13]

2023 World Cup advertisement

Before the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the French telecom company Orange created a video using deepfake technology where real game footage of the French women's national team was edited to make the women's players appear as popular French men's national team players. At the end of the advertisement, it was revealed what viewers thought were men's highlights were actually women's highlights.[18] The advertisement went viral.[19][20] The purpose was to challenge prejudice against women's football.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "French Women Are Taking Over Soccer". The New Yorker. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Holden, Kit (1997-02-27). "When Ladies of Preston ruled the world - Sport". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  3. ↑ Buckley, Will (2009-09-09). "The forgotten story of ... the Dick, Kerr's Ladies football team | Will Buckley | Football | guardian.co.uk". Guardian. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  4. ↑ Sciolino, Elaine (16 September 2002). "Paris Journal; For French Girls, Playing Soccer Is a Tough Goal". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  5. ↑ "Spotlight on France - More and more women and girls play football in France". 30 May 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  6. ↑ 2009 UEFA European Women's Championship Match Press Kit (PDF), 29 August 2009
  7. ↑ "Fémina sport : aux sources du foot des femmes en France". Libération (in French). 10 June 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "Women's World Cup 2019: Could this be a landmark moment for French sport and culture?". BBC Sport. 5 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "5 dates clefs sur l'histoire du football féminin". Cosmopolitan.fr (in French).
  10. ↑ Fédération Française de Football (Hrsg.): 100 dates, histoires, objets du football français. Tana, o. O. 2011, ISBN 978-2-84567-701-2, Page. 121
  11. ↑ "Statut pro pour ces dames - Foot - Féminines - L'EQUIPE.FR". 10 March 2009. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  12. ↑ Simon, Frank (27 May 2019). "Women's World Cup 2019 team guide No 1: France". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
  13. 1 2 "Women's football in France | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. July 9, 2022.
  14. ↑ Rebaudo, Chloé (15 May 2022). "RÉCIT. " Jouer un samedi soir, c'était exceptionnel " : il y a 20 ans, la Coupe de France féminine". Ouest France (in French). Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  15. ↑ Longman, Jeré (2019-06-25). "In Women's World Cup Origin Story, Fact and Fiction Blur". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  16. ↑ "First ladies pave the way". FIFA.com. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  17. ↑ "1997, entrées dans l'histoire". www.fff.fr. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  18. ↑ "France's awesome Women's World Cup ad with unexpected twist". ESPN.com. 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  19. ↑ "Viral French Soccer Ad Subverts Gender Expectations". Time. 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  20. ↑ "Fans rave about French Women's World Cup ad with unexpected twist". Reuters. 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  21. ↑ O'Neill, Caoimhe. "The World Cup advert that is challenging perceptions - and what it says about sport". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
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