On the eve of the women's Euro 2009 final, which pits England against Germany in Helsinki, The Guardian's Will Buckley offers a look back at one of the most successful women's teams in history, the Dick, Kerr and Co., ladies team of Preston. During World War I, the women workers of the Dick, Kerr and Co ammunitions factory faced off against the men. The women won.
Seeing an opportunity, office administrator Alfred Frankland took control of marketing and managing the team. Frankland, or 'Pop' as he was known, tempted underage girls to Preston with offers of employment and the incentive of paid-for leave. The DK's went on to play and beat international teams at big venues throughout England, including Goodison Park Stamford Bridge, as part of a fundraising effort for soldiers injured by munitions.
After the FA banned women's soccer from Football League stadiums because the game was "quite unsuitable for females," Pop took the DK's to America. Playing largely against men, they lost only three matches out of nine. "I played against them in 1922," recalled top stopper of his day Pete Renzulli. "We were national champions and we had a hell of a job beating them."