1979 European Competition for Women's Football

European Competition for Women's Football 1979 Coppa Europa per Nazioni 1979 Italy 19–27 July 12 DEN ITA SWE ENG 1 16 40 1969 (unofficial) 1984 (official) The 1979 European Competition for Women's Football was a women's football tournament contested by European nations. It took place in Italy from 19 to 27 July 1979. The tournament featured 12 teams, with games staged in Naples and Rimini. Considered unofficial because it was not run under the auspices of UEFA, it was a precursor to the UEFA Women's Championship. Denmark won the tournament, beating hosts Italy 2–0 in the final at Stadio San Paolo. Tournament review Economically, the tournament was not a success:Williams 2007 31 The 1979 Italian tournament is often cited as being financially disastrous, but it was not so for the participating teams. Rather, the hosts bore the costs, but the financial problems affected the organization of the competition. In the late 1970s the issue of international tournaments for women's football teams was contentious. The international governing body International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) refused several requests to sanction independently organised tournaments, declaring that such matters "were only possible through the National Association and the Confederations." Writing in 2007, Jean Williams observed that "The fact that they had been busy not organising these events seems to have escaped [FIFA's] notice.Williams 2007 10 According to Williams, FIFA's bureaucratic suppression of women's football was becoming unsustainable: "By the 1970s it simply wasn't a viable option for FIFA to ignore women playing the game and hope that they would go away."Williams 2007 14 The European Confederation, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), displayed little enthusiasm for women's football and were particularly hostile to Italy's independent women's football federation. Sue Lopez, a member of England's squad, contended that a lack of female representation in UEFA was a contributory factor:Lopez 1997 99 In 1971, UEFA had set up a committee for women's football, composed exclusively of male representatives, and by the time this committee folded in 1978 they had failed to organise any international competitions. At a conference on 19 February 1980 UEFA resolved to launch its own competition for women's national teams.https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Women/General/01/99/05/49/1990549_DOWNLOAD.pdf 2013 Uefa Women's Competitions UEFA August 2013 12 January 2014 4 The meeting minutes had registered the 1979 competition as a "cause for concern".Williams 2007 30 Results First round The top team in each group advanced to the semi-finals. Group A Team Pld Played W Won D Drawn L Lost GF Goals for GA Goals against GD Goal difference Pts PointsITA220061+54NOR210153+22NIR200218−70 18 July 1979 ITA 4–0 Report NIR Morace 15 42Vignotto 33Golin 63 NaplesErik Garin's tournament page at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation says Italy won this match 4–1. Limini (Italy) 20 July 1979 NIR 1–4 Report NOR Geraldine Smith Neilsen Nyborg Karlsen Opseth Naples 3,000 22 July 1979 ITA 2–1 Report NOR Golin 7Morace 68 Neilsen 55 BeneventoThe Italian Football Federation report says this game took place in Benevento. The Football Association of Norway report says Naples. 3,000 Beretta (Italy) Group B Team Pld Played W Won D Drawn L Lost GF Goals for GA Goals against GD Goal difference Pts PointsENG220051+44FIN201124-21SWI201113−21 19 July 1979 ENG 3–1 Report FIN *Chapman ? Kaasinen Sorrento 21 July 1979 SWI 1–1 Report FIN Barmettler 51 Krummenacher 43 o.g. ScafatiSwitzerland - International Matches Women 1970-2003 https://www.rsssf.org/tablesz/zwit-wom-intres.html Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 26 August 2012 30 April 2006 Erik Garin 23 July 1979 ENG 2–0 Report SWI *Parker ? Sorrento Group C Team Pld Played W Won D Drawn L Lost GF Goals for GA Goals against GD Goal difference Pts PointsDEN220051+44FRA201113-21SCO201102−21 18 July 1979 21:30 DEN 3–1 DBU Report (in Danish)Report (in French) FRA Niemann Hindkjær 50Holst Farrugia 25 Stadio Comunale, Rimini 500France 1-3 Danemark http://www.fff.fr/servfff/fiche_joueur/match.php?id_match=486 French Football Federation 26 August 2012 French 21 October 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121021182112/http://www.fff.fr/servfff/fiche_joueur/match.php?id_match=486 dead 20 July 1979 FRA 0–0 Report (in French) SCO Rimini 650 22 July 1979 21:30 DEN 2–0 DBU Report (in Danish) SCO Hindkjær Stadio Comunale, Riccione Group D Team Pld Played W Won D Drawn L Lost GF Goals for GA Goals against GD Goal difference Pts PointsSWE211041+33NED211031+23WAL200205−50 19 July 1979 12:00 SWE 3–0 Report WAL Ödlund Sintorn Lindqvist RiminiSveriges motståndare 1973-2011 https://svenskfotboll.se/ImageVault/Images/id_1048/ImageVaultHandler.aspx Swedish Football Association 26 August 2012 Swedish 21 July 1979 12:00 WAL 0–2 Report NED De Bakker 40Timmer 60 pen. Rimini 23 July 1979 12:00 SWE 1–1 Report NED Sintorn 2 De Bakker 21 Rimini Knockout stage 25 July – Naples ITA 3 ENG 1 25 July – Rimini DEN 1 SWE 0 28 July – Naples DEN 2 ITA 0 27 July – Naples SWE 0 (4) ENG 0 (3) Semi-finals 25 July 1979 ITA 3–1 FIGC Report (in Italian) ENG Vignotto 11 65Musumeci 70 Curl 49 Stadio San Paolo, Naples 25 July 1979 21:30 DEN 1–0 DBU Report (in Danish) SWE Niemann 25 Rimini 1,000 Third place match 27 July 1979 SWE 0–0 Report ENG NaplesThe Swedish Football Association list of matches says this game took place in Naples. Sue Lopez's book Women on the Ball suggests nearby Scafati. 4–3 Final After a goalless first half, Denmark took the lead 10 minutes into the second period through 18–year–old striker Lone Smidt Hansen (who later became Lone Smidt Nielsen through marriage).Progress delights great Dane https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/01aa-0e10950fb808-3102b274c20a-1000--progress-delights-great-dane/ UEFA 26 August 2012 2 June 2005 Peter Bruun Inge Hindkjær secured Denmark's victory with her fourth goal of the tournament, four minutes from full-time.Danmark - Italien 2 - 0 https://www.dbu.dk/landshold/landsholdsdatabasen/MatchInfo/1675 Danish Football Association 26 August 2012 After the tournament, the Danish Football Association (DBU) were subject to media criticism for their failure to properly develop women's football. 28 July 1979 21:30 DEN 2–0 FIGC Report (in Italian)DBU Report (in Danish) ITA Smidt Nielsen 51Hindkjær 76 Stadio San Paolo, Naples 15,000 Pancani (Italy) Winner fbw European Competition for Women's Football 1979 winners DEN First Notes References 2 Bibliography Soccer, Women, Sexual Liberation: Kicking Off a New Era Fan Hong James Anthony Mangan Routledge 2003 978-0714684086 https://books.google.com/books?id=Ac1cwirO44oC&pg=PA104 Women's Football in Denmark Lopez Sue Sue Lopez Women on the Ball: A Guide to Women's Football Scarlet Press 1997 London, England 1857270169 A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football Williams Jean Jean Williams Berg Publishers 2007 978-1845206758 External links Results at RSSSF.com 1979 Competition Competition Category:1979 in Italian women's sport Category:1979–80 in Italian football 1979 Category:Football in Naples Category:Sports competitions in Naples Category:Sport in Rimini Category:Sorrento Category:Riccione Category:July 1979 sports events in Europe