Gary James

A pioneering group who defied an FA ban On Women 's football to form a team and help lay The Foundations for the Lionesses are being honoured.

A blue plaque is to be unveiled at the Manchester Corinthians former home in Fog Lane Park, Didsbury, later.

The Club , which formed in 1949, won a major European trophy in Germany, and played on international tours in front of More Than 50,000 people.

Former player Margaret Shepherd said the recognition " means everything".

The Football Association banned women from playing on FA-affiliated pitches in 1921.

The ban was finally lifted in 1971 following the formation of The Women 's Football Association a couple of years earlier.

Margaret Whitworth, a former Manchester Corinthians player, told how she had to keep it A Secret that she played football at first as did many of her teammates.

" We never told anybody until later on in our careers, " She Said .

She Said they did not dare be seen buying football boots either.

" We'd either send from The Catalogue or we used to get Someone Else to buy them and say they were for our brother, " She Said .

" In Those Days things were totally different; women playing football wasn't very ladylike. "

Ms Whitworth, who joined The Team in 1958 at the Age Of 12 and played for them until 1974, recalled playing in front of crowds of More Than 50,000 people during a three-month tour of South America .

Now aged 77, She Said : " It is something you never forget. I loved every minute of it.

" I was only 14 years old and it was just in Another World to me. Everything about it was amazing. "

Ms Whitworth said reuniting with some teammates she has not seen in 60 years for the unveiling of The Blue plaque " will be amazing".

Another former player, Margaret Shepherd, who played from 1967 until 1972, said she also kept her football Under Wraps from her work colleagues and school friends.

" I never told anyone, " She Said .

" You didn't tell anybody because you were frowned upon. Women playing football wasn't heard of. "

The 76-year-old said The Blue plaque " means everything".

" It is not just for me but it is for every other Corinthian that played and every other lady footballer that played during the ban.

" We just want recognition of the achievements that we made, " She Said .

Ms Shepherd said she had loved watching the Lionesses trophy and their run to this year's.

Historian and writer Gary James backed The Campaign to celebrate the " groundbreaking" Manchester Corinthians, which folded in the early 1980s.

" The Corinthians demonstrated that women were playing football consistently and regularly at a time when the FA ban was in place, " He Said , adding they had " toured the globe promoting football and female endeavour and demonstrated The Best of British football".

" They demonstrate that no matter what society tells you it is important to break down barriers and work together, " He Said .

Two murals by artist Gavin Renshaw dedicated to the Manchester Corinthians will also be unveiled in a ceremony which is due to be attended by More Than a dozen former players, including 92-year-old Dorothy Allcock who played when The Team was formed in 1949.

Source of news: bbc.com