The
best sign that shows how much fans like women's football is the number
of spectators during the final match of the third World Championship
(U.S.A. 1999),- more than 90,000 people!
By MILOS JEREMIĆ
from Belgrade, SERBIA
The expansion of women's football in the world starts in 1991, when
the first ladies' world championship was held in China. The best national
teams are the U.S.A. and Germany, which won the title twice, followed
by the representatives of Scandinavia - Norway (winner in 1995) and
Sweden, and of course, the Brazilians. The Germans have won,beside
World Titles, six European Championships, the Norwegians two titles
and Sweden was the first European champion in 1984.
It officially started in 2001 with the European clubs competition
covered by UEFA organization, which equal to men's Champions League.
At the most important women's football competition in Europe, the
best teams are the Swedish Umea and the German clubs Frankfurt and
Turbina from Potsdam.
The best sign to show how much fans like women's football is the number
of spectators during the final match of the third World Championship
(U.S.A. 1999),- more than 90,000 people!
South-east
European women's football is still "growing up". There is
a lack of big sponsorship because today, without money, you can not
fight against rich owners, no matter how much talent, ambition and
will you have. In Serbia, women started playing "serious football"
in the 1970s. FC Sloga from Zemun became the unofficial European vice-champion
in 1976, and thirteen years later, in the French city of Menton, Masinac
(Nis) won the European title (unofficial clubs Champions League).
But you can not live out of memories. The big problem is a big difference
in quality at the national league, where the best club is Masinac
from Nis (south Serbia), and they won 21 championships and 11 national
cups. WFC Masinac takes part in qualifying Champions League tournaments
but they did not prove themselves on the international scene yet.
Beside the strong sponsorships, if you want success like that, you
must to make the national league stronger and avoid "monopoly"
of one team. Football is played in about ten cities more, but usually
under very difficult conditions.
Media support is also hard to get. Although women's football is in
sports family of "basic football" (with kids, school, invalids
and veterans) sports public opinion here almost would not hear about
that. Then one shouldn't wonder why only about a hundred spectators
came to the qualifying match for the European Championship 2009 (Finland).
These are very small number for a sport that in the last 15 years
in the world "breaths with whole lungs".
The
best sign that shows how much fans like women's football is the number
of spectators during the final match of the third World Championship
(U.S.A. 1999),- more than 90,000 people!
South-east
European women's football is still "growing up". There is
a lack of big sponsorship because today, without money, you can not
fight against rich owners, no matter how much talent, ambition and
will you have. In Serbia, women started playing "serious football"
in the 1970s. FC Sloga from Zemun became the unofficial European vice-champion
in 1976, and thirteen years later, in the French city of Menton, Masinac
(Nis) won the European title (unofficial clubs Champions League).
But you can not live out of memories. The big problem is a big difference
in quality at the national league, where the best club is Masinac
from Nis (south Serbia), and they won 21 championships and 11 national
cups. WFC Masinac takes part in qualifying Champions League tournaments
but they did not prove themselves on the international scene yet.
Beside the strong sponsorships, if you want success like that, you
must to make the national league stronger and avoid "monopoly"
of one team. Football is played in about ten cities more, but usually
under very difficult conditions.