1st Edition

Female Football Spectators in Britain 1863-1939 A Historical Analysis

By Robert Lewis Copyright 2023

    This book analyses women as spectators at men’s association football (soccer) in Britain from 1863 to 1939. The author shows that women have always been present at men’s football in Britain, a fact not always acknowledged in modern popular accounts of the game, albeit as a small minority in overall attendances.

    Some women have always been ‘authentic’ fans of football, both knowledgeable and enthusiastic in their support, and this book will demonstrate that.

    1. The Market for Association Football as a Spectator Entertainment and the Female Spectator as a ‘Visible Flaneuse’ 2. Female Football Spectators in Britain: Evidence for Attendance 3. The Female Football Spectator as Authentic Fan: Theory 4. The Female Football Spectator as Authentic Fan: Historical Evidence 5. Women Football Spectators and the Crowd: Aspects of Spectatorship 6. Conclusion: Female Football Fans in Britain in Historical Context, 1863–1939: Transgressive, Authentic and Not Invisible

    Biography

    Robert Lewis is the author of five entries in The Encyclopedia of British Sport and has contributed widely to the academic journal literature, including ‘Football Hooliganism in England Before 1914’ published by The International Journal of the History of Sport and ‘The female football spectator in England, 1870–1914’, published in Soccer and Society. He died in 2021.