Women's football in Russia

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Women's football in Russia
CountryRussia
Governing bodyRussian Football Union
National team(s)Women's national team
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions
Champions League
FIFA Women's World Cup (National Team)
European Championship(National Team)
Olympics(National Team)

Women's association football is a largely amateur sport in Russia, given the greater emphasis of the male competitions.[1] As of 2018, there were 30,000 women playing football in Russia, with over 11,000 playing at an amateur level and only 200 playing professionally in the eight teams of the Russian Women's Football Championship.[2]

History[edit]

In 1972 the Communist Party and banned women’s football because it believed it was a “men’s sport.[3] There is a great amount of stigma attached to women playing football in Russia.[2][4] The Soviet women's football championship was founded in 1989.[5]

League[edit]

The Russian Women's Football Championship is the national league of the country consisting of 8 professional teams.[2]

National team[edit]

The Russia women's national football team has been qualified only twice in the FIFA Women's World Cup reaching the Quarterfinals (1999, 2003), and fives times in the UEFA Women's Championship, (1997, 2001,[6] 2009, 2013, 2017).[6]

On 28 February 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and in accordance with a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA and UEFA suspended the participation of Russia, including in the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The Russian Football Union unsuccessfully appealed the FIFA and UEFA bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the bans.[7]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jean Williams. "Women's Football, Europe and Professionalization 1971-2011" (PDF). De Montfort University. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Egorov, Boris (30 March 2018). "Why don't Russian women play football?". www.rbth.com.
  3. ^ "Once taboo, Russian women's football eyes FIFA World Cup 2018 boost". Hindustan Times. 14 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Game changer: how football saved my life as a woman in Russia". The Calvert Journal.
  5. ^ "Женский футбол в РФ. Справка". 21 August 2010.
  6. ^ a b "UEFA Women's C'ship – Teams – Russia". 28 August 2009. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009.
  7. ^ "Russia World Cup ban appeal rejected by CAS". ESPN.com. 18 March 2022.