1895 was the year when the first women’s football match was played. Since then and till now, women’s football has traveled leaps and bounds, galaxies and cosmos to reach where it is today.
The first women’s World Cup was staged 31 years ago in France, where the United States emerged victorious defeating Norway in the finals.
Then, 10 years later in 2001, there was an initiation made at the club level. The UEFA Women’s Champions League was born. European nights were no longer only for the gents but for the ladies as well.
So, it’s well over 20 odd years now that the scene in the women’s game at the club level has developed.
Hence, it’s worth delving into the recent history of women’s club football in Europe and identifying the most dominant clubs so far!
Here are the best clubs in Europe, as far as women’s football is concerned.
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Féminine was founded in 1971. Since 2001, they have competed in League 1 Féminine, the top division of French female football.
The club won its first major prize, the Coupe de France Féminine, in 2010, and since then, they have grown dramatically, going from a mid-table squad to one of the finest in the world.
They have twice finished second in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and eight times in Division 1 behind Olympique Lyonnais.
VfL Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a member of Germany’s top division, the Bundesliga, and was one of the competition’s founding members.
Unlike in the men’s Bundesliga, Wolfsburg has dominated its rivals Bayern Munich in the Frauen Bundesliga. They have now won the league for the last four seasons in a row.
The squad is also doing well in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, but hasn’t been able to win it recently; they last won the competition in 2014. Overall, they have won it twice and have been the competition’s runner-up for the previous three seasons in a row, which is extremely remarkable.
FC Barcelona Femení
FC Barcelona Femen, like its men’s team, is one of the greatest in the world. The club was founded in 1988 and is now the reigning Spanish champion, having won the Primera División in 2020-21.
Barcelona Femen has also won the most Primera División titles in the competition’s history, winning it six times. Except for 2013, the team has won the Copa Catalunya every year since 2009.
After getting close so many times, the team finally won the Champions League last year. They are the defending champions for this season.
Olympique Lyonnais
They have been ‘the team’ in women’s football. With fifteen league trophies, the French club has been the most successful club in the history of Division 1 Féminine.
They have won the league for fourteen consecutive seasons, which is a global record in any sport for consecutive title wins. The team has also won the UEFA Women’s Champions League a record seven times.
The club is unquestionably an inspiration to every female sports team in the world. Lyon’s CEO, Jean-Michel Aulas, has compared the team to Real Madrid and Barcelona in the men’s game.
