FA apology to women's team who defied football ban
The Corinthians was a Manchester-based team that played in a park due to a ban on women using football grounds.
Ten surviving players have featured in a recent documentary [Films Not Words] Members of a women's football team who defied a 50-year ban on female participation in the 20th century have received an "historic" apology from The Football Association (FA). The Corinthians were founded in 1949 on a muddy field in a park in Manchester, at the height of a ban on women's football after the FA had ruled that women were not allowed to play matches on FA-affiliated football grounds. Former player Monica Curran said: "It is amazing I'm 80 and we have received an apology from one of the biggest sporting organisations in the country.
" An FA spokesman said the team "through their unwavering spirit, talent and determination blazed a trail for women's football around the world. The Corinthians football team was set up in 1949 in Manchester [Films Not Words] "We are sorry that a ban on women's football was introduced in 1921 and not revoked until 1971. " The spokesman added: " We recognise the courage of the teams and individuals who continued to play the game during this period.
"In more recent times, our ongoing commitment and investment into women's and girls' football in England has achieved unprecedented success and growth across all levels of the game – and we will ensure it continues to thrive in the future. " The story of Manchester Corinthians Ladies FC is being told in a new documentary titled The Corinthians: We Were The Champions. Director Helen Smither said the decision is "historic" and added "the FA has never apologised for any ban on women.
" Curran joined in the 1960s after a local newspaper article on the team's tour of South America and went to a trial. "I was football mad and just wanted to play," she said. "We didn't even know there was a ban.