and it was more than a hundred years ago, that the dick kerr ladies played their first game of footballm ever, playing in front of record crowds. but it's likely you've never heard of them, because in the 1920s women were banned by the football association. jayne mccubbin has to been find out more about their impact. why is it nobody knows their name? you tell me, because they're the best that has ever been. this is the story of the dick kerr ladies and this — this is where the story starts. 100 years ago, this was a munitions factory in preston and home to a group of women who loved football. on christmas day in 1917, they played their first game at the preston north end ground, deepdale. 10,000 came to watch and their following quickly grew. they started it as a patriotic thing to raise money for wounded soldiers during the first world war, but, on top of that, they became the best that there was as well. anywhere, in the world, ever. they played 833 games and lost only 28. they raised over £10 million for charity in today's money, and none of this was just novelty — they could really

this is the story of the dick kerr ladies and this, this is where the story starts. 100 years ago, this women who loved football. on christmas day in 1917, they played their first game at the preston north end ground, deepdale. 10,000 came to watch and their following quickly grew. they started it as a patriotic thing to raise money for wounded soldiers during the first world war, but, on top of that, they became the best that there was as well. anywhere, in the world, ever. they played 833 games and lost only 28. they raised over £10 million for charity in today's money, and none of this was just novelty — they could really play. just look at the numbers watching here. this was football good enough to draw the crowds? absolutely. the biggest crowd that came to see them was on boxing day 1920, when 53,000 people turned up to watch them at goodison park, everton, and there were between 10,000 and 111,000 locked out, couldn't get in. infact, in 1921, over 900,000 people came to watch the dick kerr ladies play, the very year the fa decided to ban women's football. they expressed their stro

in fact, over 900,000 people came to watch the dick kerr ladies play, the very year the fa decided togame and football was not suitable for females and should not be encouraged, but the girls themselves thought it was good because they were getting bigger crowds than some of the men. these are the names that would almost certainly be forgotten, were it not for one woman's mission to keep their place in history. we should know their names, yeah. we talk about paula radcliffe and jessica ennis—hill and we have sports personality of the year, i was watching the other week thinking we should have attended the century and it should be dick dick kerr ladies. the team continued to play defying the ban until 1965. in 71, the ban was lifted. today, a new team is linked to preston north end, but they can only dream of the success that the dick kerr ladies achieve back then, that we almost forgot. can you imagine 53,000 women's match today? got no. that begs the question, where women's football be today if the fa had not...|j genuinely believe that it would be ona par genuinely believe that it w

it was more than a hundred years ago, that the dick kerr ladies i had never heard of them.hem, because in the 1920s, women were banned by the football association. in this suffrage yearjayne mccubbin has to been find out more about their impact. why is it that nobody knows their name? you tell me, because they're the best that has ever been. this is the story of the dick kerr ladies and this, this is where the story starts. 100 years ago, this was a munitions factory in preston and home to a group of women who loved football. on christmas day in 1917, they played their first game at the preston north end ground, deepdale. 10,000 came to watch and their following quickly grew. they started it as a patriotic thing to raise money for wounded soldiers during the first world war, but, on top of that, they became the best that there was as well. anywhere, in the world, ever. they played 833 games and lost only 28. they raised over £10 million for charity in today's money, and none of this was just novelty — they could really play. just look at the numbers watching here. this was