France women's national football team

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France

Nickname

Les Bleues (The Blues)

Association

French Football Federation
(Fédération Française
de Football)

Coach

Bruno Bini

Most caps

Corinne Diacre - 121

Top scorer

Marinette Pichon - 80

FIFA rank





Home kit





Away kit

First International
England 0 - 2 France
(Manchester, England; 1920)

Largest win
?

Worst defeat
?

World Cup

Appearances

4 (First in 1971)

Best result

1st round, 2003

Olympic Games

Appearances

? (First in ?)

Best result

UEFA Women's Championship

Appearances

9 (First in 1984)

Best result

quarter final

edit

The French women's national football team, or the Blues, constists of the best female players in France and is run by the Fédération française de football. In 2005, the team qualified for the 2005 UEFA Women's Championship

1 History of the Blues
2 Honours
- 2.1 Performance in the World Cup
- 2.2 Performance in European Championship
3 Notable players (past and present)
4 Coaches
5 FIFA ranking
6 External links

[edit] History of the Blues

In 1919 a women's football championship was established in France. On April 29, 1920, France played its first international match against an English team, Dick, Kerr's Ladies. The game, held in Preston, attracted more than 25,000 spectators. The Blues lost the match 2-0. Further games were played against Dick, Kerr Ladies from Preston in England. The first game held in France was at the Pershing stadium in Paris, and ended in a 1-1 tie against Dick, Kerr Ladies of England.

In May 1921, France played in another English tournament. They won their first match 5-1, but then suffered 3 defeats. In October 1921, the English team came to France and played games in Paris and Le Havre, both matches ending in stalemate.

Despite the prohibition of women's football by the English Football Association, games continued in England. A victory for the French in Plymouth was followed by no-score draws in Exeter and Falmouth.

By 1932, the female game had been called to an end. The last match by the France de la Fédération des Sociétés Féminines Sportives de France team was another scoreless draw against the Belgian women's team on April 3, 1932.

[edit] Rebellion years (1968-1985)

Throughout the late 60s in France, particularly in Reims, players worked hard to promote awareness and acceptance of women's football. A year before getting official sanction, the Blues took park in a clandestine European cup against England, Denmark and Italy, won by the Italians. Women's football was officially reinstated in 1970, and players organized an unofficial World Cup, won by Denmark. The Blues did not participate in that cup, but took part in the 1971 World Cup held in Mexico. The ladies continued the pirate games, which just made it into the margins of FIFA's records, until FIFA began overseeing the competition in 1991. Since 1982, UEFA has governed the European games.

Stade of Reims was the best team around from the 1960s to the early 1980s, and thus constituted much of the French national squad. For the non-official World Cup in 1978 in Taiwan, the team included the entire Reims squad. The shared the title with the Finnish team, who never actally played the final.

[edit] Crisis years (1985-1998)

After the hopes born in the rebellion years and the good level reached by the best French players, one would expect to see the French team doing well in the competitions, but this was not the case. Women's football was not regarded highly by the football federation, which did not place much store in developing it. President Fournet-Fayard was particularly complicit in this oversight. In this period the Blues were notable only for their absence in major international tournaments.

[edit] Clairefontaine years (1998-2005)

Under the wing of Aimé Jacquet, top level female football was overseen by Clairefontaine, arguably the finest football academy in the world. Frances "A Team" and younger women alike were afforded the same benefits from the facilities offered by Clairefontaine as the men. Under the tutilage of Elisabeth Loisel, the first results appeared encouraging. They got to the 2003 World Cup after defeating England in a play-off game in London and again in Geoffroy-Guichard stadium. The second match attracted more than 23,000 spectators and was broadcast by Canal Plus. Loisel's squad qualified for the 2005 European Championships, where they were knocked out in the group stage.