Australian women’s football: a century ago they fought for the right to play – and 10,000 people turned out to watch

The Reds and the Blues line up at the first public women's football match at the Gabba in Brisbane in 1921. The crowd of 10,000 would remain a record for a women’s match in Australia until the Matildas defeated Brazil at Penrith stadium with 17,000 watching on in 2017. Photograph: Football Queensland

The Gabba is better known for hosting Ashes Tests, the Brisbane Lions, and the odd Adele concert. But on 24 September 1921, the Brisbane cricket ground hosted one of the most significant fixtures in Australian women’s football history – the first representative match.

The Queensland Football Association (QFA), the tightly clenched men’s state governing body, had taken no small amount of convincing to include women’s teams on their match-day card. However, funds raised from the estimated turnout, newspapers report about 10,000, certainly eased their torment. That would remain a record crowd for a women’s match in Australia for nearly a century, when the Matildas defeated Brazil at a sold out Penrith stadium with 17,000 watching on in 2017. The women got a cut of gate takings too – their £90 share is the first recognised income for women’s football in Australia.