'The perfect person to guide us through the constantly changing landscape of women's football' KELLY CATES
'One of the most prolific writers about women’s football in the UK' EVENING STANDARD
Before Mary Earps, Jess Fishlock, and Lucy Bronze, there were the trailblazers who defied the odds.
In 1921, the FA banned women from playing football, but these rebels refused to quit. Leaving behind jobs, families, and their homeland, they sought opportunities abroad, where they could fulfil their footballing potential.
This book uncovers the untold stories of those pioneering women who paved the way for today’s stars. The original Lioness who started a new life in the Netherlands as a teenager, the first woman of colour to play for England, the girl who gave up the chance of international recognition to play in Italy – through their reflections, we explore their extraordinary journeys, the evolution of women’s football, and the dreams they still hold for the future.
The author:
Carrie Dunn's recent books include The Pride of the Lionesses (Pitch, 2019), nominated as Football Book of the Year in 2020, and a sequel to The Roar of the Lionesses: Women's Football in England (Pitch, 2016), one of the Guardian's best sports books of 2016. Her most recent book Unsuitable for Females (Arena, 2022) tells the stories of the people who have kept women's football blazing a trail over the last century. She has covered the last three Women's World Cups for the Times and Eurosport, and is a regular voice on BBC radio as well as The Athletic's Women's Football Podcast. She has a PhD in sport sociology, and her particular research specialism is in women’s experience of sport. Her own footballing career began - and ended - with the Junior Hatters' supporters' club in her hometown of Luton. She lives in the beautiful Snowdonia National Park with her actor husband and their rescue lurcher, Spring.
