Women's football in Denmark
| Women's Football in Denmark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Denmark |
| Governing body | Danish Football Association |
| National team(s) | Women's national team |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
Denmark is one the earliest pioneers of women's football as they participated and won the inaugural 1971 Women's World Cup. The women's team represents the nation in international competitions. Professional women's football in the country is controlled by the Danish Football Association. The association conducts league matches including the Danish Women's League, the top tier of women's football clubs in Denmark.
History
[edit]In 1969, the Danish Football Association received an invitation to participate in the first unofficial European Championship for women. While women's football clubs were not officially recognised by the association, a team was sent by Copenhagen based club BK Femina. The team finished runner-up in the competition behind the Italian women's team.[1] The Danish women's team participated in the inaugural 1971 Women's World Cup held in Mexico City.[2][3] The team won the title ahead of the hosts Mexico.[4][5][6]
With the championship victory, the number of women footballers grew from around 1,500 members in 1971 to 16,000 in 1972. In February 1972, in a meeting of the Danish Football Association in Aalborg, women's football was officially accepted as a part of the association. The first official international match was played on 27 July 1974 in Markusböle, Finland, where Denmark defeated Sweden by a penalty kick.[1] In the UEFA Women's Euro 1991 tournament hosted by Denmark, the team finished third after losing to Norway in the semifinals in a penalty shoot-off before beating Italy in the third place match.[7] In the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup held in 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, Denmark finished third in Group A to qualify for the knock-outs, where it lost to Germany.[8][9]
The Danish team again finished third in the next European tournament held in Italy, losing again to Norway in the semi-finals.[10] In the 1995 world cup, Denmark placed third in Group C before losing to Norway in the quarterfinals.[11][12] The team qualified for its lone Summer Olympics in 1996, where they finished eighth.[13]
In the 21st century, the Danish team reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Euro 2001 where they lost to Sweden.[14] The team reached another semifinals in 2013 before bettering the result by reaching the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 final.[15][16][17] The team finished runners-up after losing to Netherlands in the finals.[18] The team qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[19][20] In the World Cup, they were eliminated by hosts Australia in the round of 16.[21]
Club football
[edit]The Danish football league system comes under the purview of the football association. Danish Women's League forms the highest tier of women's football in Denmark.[22] All league clubs are eligible to play in the Danish Women's Cup.[23] The top teams of each season from the top tier qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League.[24]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Tilbageblik: Danske kvinder vandt både EM og VM, før DBU anerkendte dem som et landshold". DR (in Danish). 16 July 2022.
- ^ Johansson, Susanne Jean (23 July 2017). "Da Danmark vandt VM i fodbold". Bt.dk (in Danish).
- ^ "Efter en måned i Mexico blev hun verdensmester og en kendt person på gaden". TV SYD (in Danish).
- ^ Doyle, Paul (13 June 2019). "Women's World Cup game-changing moments No 2: Denmark in 1971". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Det begyndte med et dameblad". Information.dk (in Danish). 26 July 2013.
- ^ "Tulle og Sol vandt VM i fodbold: "Det blev ligesom bare glemt"". Alt.dk (in Danish). 9 January 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ "UEFA Women's Euro 1991". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "1991 FIFA women's world cup, Group A". FIFA. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "1991 FIFA women's world cup, Denmark vs Germany". FIFA. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "UEFA Women's Euro 1993". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "1995 FIFA women's world cup, Group C". FIFA. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "1995 FIFA women's world cup, Norway vs Denmark". FIFA. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Denmark in Olympics football". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "UEFA Women's Euro 2001". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "UEFA Women's Euro 2013". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Euro 2017: Denmark stun holders Germany as Austria edge Spain". The Guardian. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Denmark reach Euro 2017 final after penalty shootout win over Austria". The Guardian. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ Blanchette, Rob. "Netherlands Defeat Denmark, Win Women's Euro 2017 Final". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Harder's debut decorates Danes' return". April 27, 2023.
- ^ "Women's football in Denmark". UEFA. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Australia vs Denmark". FIFA. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Propositioner for Danmarksturneringen i kvindefodbold (Kvinde-DM) (2020–21)". Danish Football Association (DBU) (in Danish). June 2021. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ "Love og Regler" [Laws and Rules]. DBU (in Danish). 24 July 2024.
- ^ "New UEFA Women's club football system explained". UEFA. 4 December 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.