EMMA CLARKE; ENGLAND'S FIRST BLACK FEMALE FOOTBALLER

With Non-League Football Day this weekend, let us celebrate another important part of football's history, our Ladies. After England's disappointing draw with Australia last night, news has been published of a film made to celebrate Emma Clarke, from Bootle, the first black lady footballer to play for England; this short film sets the scene.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired/40802247
Theatre Company, "Futures Theatre", produced a film called "Offside" that has been to Edinburgh and toured the UK, which tells the story of women in football and particularly Clarke's contribution to the game. (she is second left back row)

Clarke was described as "fleet footed and a dark girl on the wing".

Early attempts to play ladies' football in the 19th Century failed miserably with violent demonstrations by the public. A match between Scotland Ladies and England's at Easter Road, Edinburgh, caused a violent pitch invasion on May 9th 1881. A later fixture in Glasgow on the 20th brought the same result from a crowd of 5,000.
Helen Graham Matthews (below), a suffragette from Montrose,  played in goal in a team known as Mrs Graham's XI. With Nettie Honeyball, a pseudonym (her real name is unknown), formed a Ladies' Football team in England, comprised mainly of "well to do ladies".

Emma Clarke, hardly "well to do" and black, from Liverpool, is recorded as a goalkeeper and right winger, who played for England Ladies in 1895 and "Mrs Graham's XI" in 1896. This team played as the British Ladies Club North Team, at that time and it toured Scotland earning money as they visited various venues. It was inspired and supported by Lady Florence Dixie from Dumfrieshire, who was a well known war correspondent and feminist of the day.
In 1897 Clarke played in a team known as "New Woman and Ten of her Friends" that played "Eleven Gentlemen" and won 3-1.
Nettie Honeyball is second left in the top row.

Clarke's career finished in 1903 at least!
She and her sister Jane, might stand out in this new cutting reporting a match played in Hull in 1897.
I have blogged on Ladies football before. Here is a link to Dick Kerr!
https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Dick,_Kerr%27s_Ladies_F.C.