Before Mary Earps, Jess Fishlock and Lucy Bronze, a generation of trailblazing women’s footballers defied the odds. In 1921, the FA banned women from playing football in England, but these rebels refused to quit the game they loved. Leaving behind jobs, families and their homeland, they travelled across Europe in search of professional opportunities in women’s football – to countries like Italy and the Netherlands – where they could finally fulfil their footballing potential.