After decades of silence, the Football Association has finally said sorry to the women who refused to let the game exclude them, paying tribute to the Manchester Corinthians and their fight to keep women’s football alive against the odds.
The apology follows a Manchester Evening News campaign calling for recognition of the pioneering team, whose story is now being told by surviving members in the documentary The Corinthians: We Were the Champions.
For Myra Lypnyckyj, aged 90 and the oldest surviving player, the apology is a long-overdue victory.
She said: “This is a brilliant victory for The Corinthians. To get an apology for the ban from The FA after all these years is the best win we have ever had. It’s 70 years since I started playing football and I never thought they would apologise in my lifetime. They never would have done it at all if it hadn’t been for our film. Now it would be great to walk out at Wembley and for the team to get the recognition on the pitch at last.”
Monica Curran, who toured with the team to Italy in 1961, added: “This apology is totally ground-breaking. For an institution like the FA, the dominant force for football to finally say sorry is amazing. They call us the Footballing Suffragettes, and for me, this feels like it must have for them when women finally got the vote. We were a real team getting that story out there with the filmmakers. This is a victory for the whole crew. We made history.”
The FA today said it is sorry for a decades-long ban on women’s football, honouring the Manchester Corinthians for their ‘unwavering spirit and determination’. The team faced years of ignorance and were told they could not be a proper club because the game was ‘unsuitable’ for women.
Hailed as football’s ‘pioneers’ and forming in 1949, the original Lionesses defied the ban and were an inspiration to women and girls who wanted to become involved in the male-dominated game.
The FA apology comes after a Manchester Evening News campaign demanding recognition for the Corinthians, which was backed by its surviving members, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and director of the documentary Helen Tither.
England’s Lionesses have twice lifted major silverware in recent years while women’s football continues to go from strength to strength. But the FA banned women’s football for five decades between 1921 and 1971. In the 55 years since the ban was lifted, the FA had not issued an apology for the injustice. That was until today, March 23, a week after the M.E.N. launched its campaign ahead of the screening of The Corinthians: We Were the Champions at HOME next month, which highlights the scale of injustice faced by its players and is told entirely in the words of the team’s ten surviving members.
The FA had banned women’s football from the grounds of Association-affiliated clubs in 1921. Yet Manchester Corinthians Ladies Football Club were the first women’s team to tour South America in 1960, beat Germany to an unofficial European Cup in 1957, and triumphed over Juventus to win a cup in Europe in 1970. Now, they have secured a significant new victory.
In a statement issued on March 23, the Football Association said: “Manchester Corinthians Ladies FC were pioneers of women’s football. Through their unwavering spirit, talent and determination, they blazed a trail for women’s football around the world.
“We are sorry that a ban on women’s football was introduced in 1921 and not revoked until 1971. 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.”
Other members of the Corinthians reflected on the significance of the apology. Anne Grimes, who joined the team in 1956 and toured Germany and South America, said: “I can’t believe it, that is incredible. I never thought they would ever apologise because they never saw the need to do it before. I think it’s down to finally this film shining a light on what happened. Now they can’t ignore the truth. It’s always been a David versus Goliath battle, The Corinthians against The FA. Now, over 70 years since we started we have finally won the battle to be recognised and for an apology. This apology is for all the women who played. I could just cry for them not all being here to hear it. They would have been in absolute awe.”
Marlene Cook, who toured South America with the team in 1960, added: “The Corinthians proved that women don’t need permission or fancy statements to succeed. We did it despite the system, not because of it. We welcome The FA’s apology and now we want to look forward. This moment isn’t only about saying sorry. A real apology looks like equal investment in girls’ and women’s academies. It looks like girls having the same training facilities, the same sponsorship deals, the same media coverage as boys. It looks like clubs committing to women’s development the way they do men’s. That’s the apology that matters. That’s the change that counts.”
The Corinthians: We Were the Champions is directed by former M.E.N. women’s editor Helen Tither for Manchester-based production company Films Not Words. The film is told entirely in the words of the team’s ten surviving players: Myra Lypnyckyj, Anne Grimes, Marlene Cook, Pauline Hulme, Freda Ashton, Monica Curran, Jean Wilson, Margaret Whitworth, Margaret Shepherd, and Jan Lyons.
‘National injustice’ as FA takes 105 years to apologise
The documentary tells the real-life story of the rebels of women’s football, defying the 50-year ban on women playing and their journey to becoming global champions. The apology from the FA comes 105 years after the ban was first implemented, which Tither described as a ‘national injustice’.
“It has taken 105 years for The FA to apologise for the horrendous ban on women playing football, and the fact that our film has been the catalyst for them to finally say the words ‘we are sorry’ is a historic achievement,” she told the M.E.N.
“We have campaigned for four years with this film to get The Corinthians’ story told, and we are so pleased these original rebel girls of football are vindicated at last. Today feels like a real victory for all the players and the Films Not Words crew who made this happen against the odds. I couldn’t be prouder of the 10 Corinthians who took part in our film. Sadly, it comes too late for the many women who have died without hearing The FA say sorry. We really believe the way these women were treated during the ban is a national injustice and we hope the whole country watches this film and learns how these women fought to play.”
Helen Tither also thanked the Manchester Evening News for supporting the campaign.
“It’s a true victory for Mancunian filmmaking and journalism,” she said.
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