Football’s female trailblazers, from superstar players to referees
Ada Hegerberg
When it comes to discussing the modern stars of women’s football, Ada Hegerberg is undoubtedly in high esteem. The Norwegian was crowned the first winner of the Ballon d’Or Féminin, the coveted award for the world’s best player of the year, in 2018.
Hegerberg will be hoping to lead Norway to glory at next year’s women’s World Cup in Brazil, which will come 32 years after their only triumph on the world stage.
Cláudia Vasconcelos Guedes
That was just the second edition of the World Cup after its debut in 1991, the same tournament that saw Cláudia Vasconcelos Guedes become the first woman to referee a match at a FIFA tournament.
The Brazilian oversaw the 1991 Women’s World Cup third-place play-off between Sweden and Germany, leading a first all-female officiating team at a FIFA tournament alongside lineswomen, Zuo Xiudi of the People’s Republic of China and New Zealand’s Linda Black.
Guedes inspired many, and one of those who followed in her footsteps was Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappart, the first female to referee a FIFA men’s World Cup match, after she had already taken charge of a men’s World Cup qualifier and a UEFA men’s Champions League game.
Team USA
When women’s football made its Olympic debut at Atlanta 1996, eight nations battled to become the first Olympic champions in the event. That honour went to Team USA, where the Women’s United Soccer Association, the first professional women’s football league was established four years later.
Bettina Wiegmann
The United States will fondly remember winning Olympic gold on home turf, and it was an equally memorable tournament for Germany’s Bettina Wiegmann. With her goal inside five minutes against Japan, Wiegmann was forever the first woman to score at an Olympic women’s football tournament.




















