1970–71 WFA Cup
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1970–71 Women's Football Association Cup was the first edition of the WFA Cup (Women's FA Cup), the national
women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's rugby union ...
knockout competition in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, which at the time was open to clubs from the rest of Great Britain. It was organised by the
Women's Football Association The Women's Football Association (WFA) was the governing body of women's football in England. It was formed in 1969 and was disbanded in 1993, as responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the game of women's football in England passed to t ...
(WFA). Seventy–one teams entered the Cup, which was sponsored by sports equipment company
Mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...
and was thus named the Mitre Challenge Trophy. The inaugural Cup–winners were the English club Southampton Women's F.C., who beat
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
's Stewarton Thistle in the Final on 9 May 1971 at Crystal Palace Park; Stewarton won the first edition of the
Scottish Women's Cup The Women's Scottish Cup is the national knockout cup competition for women's football in Scotland. First held in 1970–71 and known as the Scottish Women's FA Cup, the competition was owned and managed by Scottish Women's Football (SWF), an ...
Final in the same year. The WFA tournament followed the rescindment of the English Football Association's 1921 ban on women's teams' use of FA member clubs' pitches. However, the English Football League partially continued this ban for more than a decade after 1970.


Prior developments

After the 1921 ban, national women's football competitions had been attempted by organisations including the English Ladies Football Association. From 1967 until 1972, a large annual summer tournament was held in
Deal, Kent Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover, England, Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked t ...
with women's clubs from throughout Great Britain, playing short–form matches. The Deal International Tournament comprised 52 clubs in 1969, including some from
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and Austria. This was a catalyst in the formation of the ''Ladies Football Association of Great Britain'' in November 1969 by forty–four clubs, with its first AGM on 6 June 1970. It was shortly renamed the
Women's Football Association The Women's Football Association (WFA) was the governing body of women's football in England. It was formed in 1969 and was disbanded in 1993, as responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the game of women's football in England passed to t ...
(WFA). One of the Association's founder members was a club from the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
, Dundalk. Women's football had been treated in hostile terms by the FA, which forbade women's teams to play at its member club grounds in England from 1921 until the early 1970s. The FA voted to revoke the ban in January 1970,"THE Football Association have given women's football teams permission to play on grounds of affiliated clubs, including Football League grounds. But the League have still to Agree to women's teams playing an any of their 92 grounds" ic
but the men's Football League did not take similar action, and did not permit its clubs to host the first WFA Cup Finals. A blanket ban lasted for a further three years, according to the WFA's Patricia Gregory: In 1971, and in the next ten competitions, the WFA Cup Finals were not allowed to be held at Football League grounds, according to the ''History of the Women's Football Association'', based on
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
records: "As the sport grew the WFA was reliant upon the generosity of smaller clubs". The first women's Final held at a League ground was the
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
Final at Loftus Road. In November 1970, the County FA Secretaries' Association conference voted to reject, by 31 to 13, the Birmingham FA's proposal to allow women's clubs to affiliate to county FAs. Several regional leagues were formed around this time, including the Heart of England Ladies' Football League, Midland Ladies Football League, Torbay Women's League, Home Counties Women's Football League, Kent Women's League, and Merseyside and Wirral Ladies' Football League


Early rounds

The first news report on team entries to the Cup was in August 1970." eamswill be eligible to compete in the Womens Football Association cup competition the female F.A. upand have also been given five other cups for which they can compete."
Mitre's sponsorship of the competition continued from 1970 until 1976; the company also provided the first winners' trophy, which was used until 1979. The 1970–71 Cup was reportedly divided into eight area groups. The eight zonal winners qualified to the quarter–finals, held in
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
. A first–round match in Scotland was Aberdeen Prima Donnas v Stewarton Thistle (of Kilmarnock), on 29 November 1970 at the Aberdeen Lads' Club Fields in
Woodside, Aberdeen Woodside is an area of Aberdeen. It came into existence as a quoad sacra parish within the parish of Old Machar in 1834, under an act of The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, General Assembly of the Church of Scotland of 31 May 1834 (IX ...
."THE PRIMA DONNAS, the ladies’ football team from TILLYDRONE COMMUNITY CENTRE, ..against Stewarton Ladies (Kilmarnock) in the first round Mitre Challenge Trophy ..tomorrow at 2 p.m."
The teams would meet again in the
Scottish Women's Cup The Women's Scottish Cup is the national knockout cup competition for women's football in Scotland. First held in 1970–71 and known as the Scottish Women's FA Cup, the competition was owned and managed by Scottish Women's Football (SWF), an ...
Final in 1971. In the earliest reported fixture in the Cup, on 1 November, Leicester City Supporters L.F.C. were drawn at home to The Wandering Angels (
Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...
),"And on the following Sunday Novemberthe Lichfield girls visit Leicester City Supporters L.F.C. in the All British Ladies' F.A. Cup."
and in December
Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...
Angels ("who were given a bye in the preliminary round") beat
Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...
Ladies, 5–3."Amersham Angels battled their way into the second round of the Women's Football Association Mitre Cup, at Hervines Park, beating Luton Ladies by two goals. ..
At this time, the Association was evidently open to all Irish and Welsh women's football clubs, though how many competed in the Cup is unclear. The successful Welsh women's team
Prestatyn Prestatyn (; ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085. Origin of name The name Prestatyn d ...
travelled to Ireland to play
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
in an "international" friendly match in April 1971, which ended in a 4–2 away win, and Dundalk's Kevin Gaynor was on the WFA Executive. A representative Northern Ireland team was discussed with the WFA in June 1971; eventually, the WFA came to be solely a governing body for England. The
Scottish Women's Football Association Scottish Women's Football (SWF), formerly known as the Scottish Women’s Football Association (SWFA) between 1972 and 2001, is the governing body for women's association football in Scotland. It is an affiliated national association of the Scotti ...
was founded in 1972.


Final rounds

One of the eight zonal final matches in February was won by
Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...
Wanderers (Warwickshire) 6–3 against Bantams Ladies (
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
), at the Memorial Park; another zonal winner was EMGALS (from
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
, representing the East Midlands
Gas Board The area gas boards were created under the provisions of the Gas Act 1948 enacted by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government. The Act nationalised the British gas industry and also created the Gas Council. History From the early 19th century ...
, EMGAS), who won 5–3 at
Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
. Another zonal final match was between Chiltern Valley and Amersham Angels. The remaining Scottish club, Stewarton Thistle, played Manchester Corinthians L.F.C. in their zonal final. Thistle's key player in their win was Susan Ferries, recounted in a 216 article: "Susan was the star of an early round 5–2 defeat of the Manchester Corinthians and a emi–final9–2 thumping of Nuneaton Wanderers, being described in the press as the Bobby Lennox of the female football world." In the quarter–finals, Nuneaton Wanderers beat Kays Ladies (
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
) on 25 April at Watford. EMGALS, Southampton and Stewarton also progressed from their quarter–finals. The semi–final winners were Stewarton Thistle (9–2 against the injury–hit Wanderers) and Southampton (11–0 versus EMGALS). The final matches were held at the
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace, London, Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor Sport of athletics, athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the for ...
, earlier the site of twenty men's FA Cup Finals in the 19th and 20th centuries. As in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
at the time, a third–place playoff was held – Nuneaton Wanderers beat EMGALS on penalties after a 3–3 draw. Soon after, Wanderers won a 10–team international tournament in Holland in June 1971. Southampton Women's F.C. won the Cup with a 4–1 victory over Stewarton Thistle, including a hat–trick by Pat Davies. The Kilmarnock–based club, whose Rose Reilly later won eight women's Serie A titles, were the first winners of the
Scottish Women's Cup The Women's Scottish Cup is the national knockout cup competition for women's football in Scotland. First held in 1970–71 and known as the Scottish Women's FA Cup, the competition was owned and managed by Scottish Women's Football (SWF), an ...
in the same year; the team also reached the second WFA Cup Final in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
under the name Lee's Ladies. Southampton player
Sue Lopez Susan Melody Lopez (born 1 September 1945) is an English former footballer who played as a left winger. She spent her entire club career with Southampton, except for a season in Italy's Serie A with Roma CF in 1971. A leading advocate of the ...
reported that the WFA subsequently fined the winners, a league select team, for "misrepresentation as a league club". Southampton were "fined £25 at a WFA tribunal". Stewarton had considered withdrawing from the final over the issue, however Southampton were allowed to keep the trophy and went on to win eight WFA Cups.


Group 1

''Only known matches shown''


Teams

* Blackpool Supporters * Elbeo * Macclesfield * Macclesfield 'B' * Manchester Corinthians * Manchester Nomads * Preston North End Supporters Club * Prima Donnas * Stewarton Thistle


First round proper

All games were scheduled for 1 and 29 November 1970.


Group 2

''Only known matches shown''


Teams

* British Rail (Leicester) * EMGALS, Forest * Hull * Leicester City Supporters Club * Notts United * Rainbow Dazzlers * Wandering Angels


First round proper

All games were scheduled for 1 and 29 November 1970.


Group 3


Teams

* Bedworth * Bedworth Rangers * Connors (Nuneaton) * Coventry Bantams * Keresley * Nuneaton Rangers * Renold * Wanderers (Nuneaton)


First round proper

All games were scheduled for 1 and 29 November 1970.


Second round proper

All games were originally scheduled for 6 and 19 December 1970.


Group 4

''Only known matches shown''


Teams

* Aston Villa, Badsey * Birmingham Beau Belles * Chelmsley Diamonds * Elkington's Angels * Kays, Lan-Bar * Lodge Park * Mid-Vale (Pershore) * St Andrews


Regional Semi finals

All games were originally scheduled for 10 January 1971.


Group 5

''Only known matches shown''


Teams

* Amersham Angels * Amersham Imps * Arland * Bracknell Bullets * Chiltern Valley * Devizes Moonrakers * Farley United (Tigers) * Luton * Phantoms * Swindon Spitfires * Talon Elite


Second round proper

All games were originally scheduled for 6 and 19 December 1970.


Regional Semi finals

All games were originally scheduled for 10 January 1971.


Group 6

''Matches not known.''


Teams

* Barking Belles * Cykicks * Edgware * Ipswich Avengers * Keith Blackman (Walthamstow) * Orient * Spurs * White Ribbon


Group 7

''Only known matches shown''


Teams

* Deal & Betteshanger United * Herne Bay Ladybirds * Lydd * Maidstone Mote United * Margate Rangers * Medway * Ramsgate All Stars * Thanet United * White Wanderers (Hamstreet)


First round proper

All games were scheduled for 1 and 29 November 1970.


Second round proper

All games were originally scheduled for 6 and 19 December 1970.


Regional Semi finals

All games were originally scheduled for 10 January 1971.


Group 8

''Only known matches shown''


Teams

* Brighton G.P.O. * Hampden Park Kingfishers * Hellingly Hospital S. & S. Club * Patstone United, Rye * Southampton * Southampton 'B' * Travaux


Second round proper

All games were originally scheduled for 6 and 19 December 1970.


Regional finals

All games were originally scheduled for 10 January and 7 February 1971


Quarter–finals

All games were played on 25 April 1971.


Semi–finals

All games were played on 25 April 1971.


Third place playoff

All games were played on 8 May 1971.


Final


See also

* 1969 European women's championship * 1970 Women's World Cup * 1971 Women's World Cup *
1970–71 FA Cup The 1970–71 FA Cup was the 90th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. First Division champions Arsenal won the competition for the fourth time, beating Liv ...


External links


Women's F.A. Cup – Results [1970–71
/nowiki>">970–71">Women's F.A. Cup – Results [1970–71
/nowiki> WomensFACup.co.uk
"Southampton '71 skipper Lesley Lloyd recalls first Women's FA Cup"Web Archive
''The Herald'', 221


References

;General references * {{DEFAULTSORT:1970-71 WFA Cup Women's FA Cup seasons 1970–71 in English women's football, Cup Women's football cup competitions in Scotland, WFA Cup 1970-71