Gail Newsham: Why women's football was banned for 50 years
Gail Newsham has spent almost three decades telling the story of the Dick, Kerr Ladies - arguably the most important team in the history of women's football. Gail is the author of ‘In A League of The Own!’ the authoritative book about the famous team and the history of women’s football.
Growing up near the factory in Preston where the team was originally formed, Gail was aware of their existence, but knew nothing much about them until she organised their first ever reunion in 1992. Her comprehensive research, which unearthed much information that would have been lost forever, included meeting some of the actual women who played before the FA Ban.
It was Gail’s work that that lead to Lily Parr becoming the first female player to be inducted in the National Football Museum Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2017 the team received a Special Recognition Award from the FA and in 2018 the Dick, Kerr Ladies were recognised by the Royal British Legion for their contribution during the First World War.
As a former footballer herself, with a career spanning almost twenty years, Gail began playing in the early 1970s and eventually signed for Preston Rangers WFC, playing in two Women's FA Cup semi-finals.
In 2019, she was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Central Lancashire in recognition of her extraordinary work.
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