The England Women's Football team has been graciously governed by the English FA since 1993. You may remember from a previous blog, the history behind the FA banning women's football in 1921.
Despite the hurdles put in front of them, England Women's team played Scotland in their first international in November 1972 at Greenock, one hundred years after the first official men's international fixture between the two countries. England came back from 0-2 down to win 3-2.
Better late than never.
Silvia Gore, pictured below much later!! scored England's first official goal in international football. She lived in Prescot, Lancashire (Rogers you reading this?) and went to Our Ladies' Junior and St Edmunds Arrowsmith Secondary locally.
Her father and uncle played for Lancashire club, Prescot Cables, so despite being unable to play at school, they persuaded her to pursue her interest in the game, so she joined Manchester Corinthians and ended up touring the world playing in front of huge crowds in South America, in what was a bit of a jamboree! She was delighted to be able to play on decent pitches!
Sylvia raised £2,000 to be able to attend trials for England Ladies (expenses??) which proved successful, leading to her first international goal at Greenock in 1972. In 1974 she joined Foden's Works team, a company that built lorries in Sandbach.
She helped them win the Women's FA Cup in 1974, beating the three time winners, Southampton 2-1 in the final.
Likened to Denis Law, she scored 134 goals in her career, retiring at 35 and then managing the Wales Women team from 1982.
She later became the Football Development Manager for Knowsley Council. Sylvia died in 2006 having been made an MBE and installed into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame and an ambassador for Manchester City. Sylvia died in 2016.
Much has changed as England and Phil take on the USA tonight.
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