A new book about the history of Australian soccer contains little-known facts about the birth of women’s football a century before this year’s home FIFA World Cup.
While the Matildas are still hoping to qualify for next month’s final in Sydney, the very first women’s match in Australia was played in the same city a hundred years earlier.
The inaugural Sydney Ladies Soccer Association was created in July 1921 and a Queensland association quickly followed, according to the newly released Australian Soccer From The Beginning.
The 336-page book, launched on Friday, was written by former athlete, AAP journalist, sports administrator, announcer, official, and soccer doyen Ted Simmons, OAM.
Former Socceroos captain Paul Wade has lavished praise on the book.
“Until now we’ve had to go to Wikipedia for the jigsaw version of Australia’s football history,” Wade…