Women's football has been rising in popularity for participants and spectators alike since the Football Association lifted its ban on the game, which had been instituted in 1921. The ban was odd, founded on the supposition that football was unsuitable for females - despite the resounding successes of female players during and after the First World War, when crowds attracted to major games numbered over 50,000 at their peak. It has taken 100 years for women's football to attract similar numbers.