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Women in Football, Part 4:
Scotland Fan

Scotland fans celebrating in the Black Bull pub, the Grassmarket, Edinburgh, June 1998

A woman, with her face painted with the Scottish Saltire, in the Black Bull pub in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh. The occasion is the World Cup on 23 June 1998, when Scotland was playing Morocco.

Women have been keen supporters of football from the early twentieth century, at the latest. It was not always thought of as a suitable thing for them to do. Hutchinson tells of a group of Newcastle United fans who all went to Crystal Palace to see their team lose against Aston Villa. One writer was shocked that they had gone 'without the assistance or company of a single mere male'.

The attitude towards women during the twentieth century has changed considerably. There are still, to some extent, double standards about women doing things like drinking, smoking, and swearing. For the 'traditional' set, watching football, like these other activities, is a 'manly' thing to do.

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