A group of women, mostly workers at a Lurgan munitions factory, played the first ever recorded international women’s soccer match – in 1917, in the middle of World War One.

Many of the women were hardworking girls employed at the munitions factory as part of the war effort which had been raging across Europe since 1914.

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An old photo of one of the first ladies soccer teams in the world - the Northern Ireland Ladies Football Team which were made up mostly of workers at a local munitions factory in the town. They played against a Tyneside Ladies team, marking the first recorded international women's football match. Sadly in 1921 the Football Association (FA) in England banned women from playing on FA-affiliated grounds and this ban lasted for 50 years.

placeholder image — An old photo of one of the first ladies soccer teams in the world - the Northern Ireland Ladies Football Team which were made up mostly of workers at a local munitions factory in the town. They played against a Tyneside Ladies team, marking the first recorded international women's football match. Sadly in 1921 the Football Association (FA) in England banned women from playing on FA-affiliated grounds and this ban lasted for 50 years.

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This postcard, discovered by Banbridge postcard collector Des Quail, recalls the event which is believed to be the very first recorded international women’s football match in soccer history.

It appears they played against a Tyneside Ladies team at Grosvenor Park in Belfast, which was the home ground of the Distillery football team – an England v Ireland fixture which was played in front of a 20,000 strong crowd on Boxing Day.

Written on the back of the postcard is who may be in the photo. It says 2nd from right standing Ethel Jones; 1st left standing Olive McCappin and 4th from left standing Ruby Hall.

The caption says 2nd from right standing Ethel Jones; 1st left standing Olive McCappin and 4th from left standing Ruby Hall. This apparently names three of these ladies who played on the first NI Ladies Football Team which was made up mostly of workers at a local munitions factory in the town in 1917. They played against a Tyneside Ladies team, marking the first recorded international women's football match. Sadly in 1921 the Football Association (FA) in England banned women from playing on FA-affiliated grounds and this ban lasted for 50 years.

Des Quail, a now retired school principal from Banbridge and an avid postcard collector, is interested to know if anyone might recognise a family member from the team.

He revealed that the family who gave him the card were from Bessbrook and gave Des the information which is on the back of the card.

"Ladies football was banned 4 years later. The Lurgan ladies worked in an ammunition factory, I think. With the interest in Ladies soccer now this may create some interest,” said Des.

It is believed the match was played at Grosvenor Park in Belfast, which was home to the Distillery football team. Now called Lisburn Distillery Football Club, its secretary Colin Hopkins told the BBC the two women’s teams that they hosted in 1917 were named the North of Ireland Ladies and the Tyneside Ladies. “There was no Northern Ireland then, it was all one country so the name of the Irish team suggests that the players were all from Belfast and surrounding districts”, he said.

Women’s football was hugely popular back then but sadly that all stopped in 1921 when the FA banned women playing football at the end of 1921.