‘You had to pinch yourself’ - How the 2005 Euros changed the landscape of women’s football in England
When the first Euro 2022 match kicks off on Wednesday at Old Trafford as England take on Austria, the country will be witnessing a very different tournament to the one hosted seventeen years ago. In 2005, the Football Association was preparing for the ninth edition of the women’s Euros, which was a significant opportunity for the growth of the game. With England acting as sole hosts for a major women's football event for the first time, there was a lot of pressure to ensure the tournament would make a positive impact on the general population.
