Barcelona may break a crowd record in the game today, but the people of the city supported women's football in their tens of thousands long ago, in the late days of the Franco regime. On Christmas Day 1970, Selecció Ciutat de Barcelona and UE Centelles played a goalless friendly at the Camp Nou (result on penalties, 4-3), prior to the men's friendly, Barcelona v CSKA Sofia. As attendance claims go, doubleheader games are a difficult point, as seen in the present century too, but the crowd that day was 60,000. Three months later, one team returned for this match: Sunday 28 March 1971 Penya Femenina Barcelona 1 - Espanyol 2 Copa Pernod final "La final de la Copa Pernod es va jugar al Camp Nou el 28 de març del 1971 davant 30.000 espectadors" "The final of the Pernod Cup was played at the Camp Nou on 28 March 1971 in front of 30,000 spectators" - (CCMA.cat / Archive) ⬤ "Barça and Espanyol faced off in the final match, after the white-and-blues beat Sabadell 2-1, and Barça won their match against Sant Andreu 1-0, matches played in the Estadi de Sarrià on 21 March." - (CCMA) Reported as being a morning kickoff, the women's final was evidently the main event at the Camp Nou. On the same day, Barça men played away at Sporting Gijón. The Barcelona women's club had been renamed in February (what they'd now call, "a major corpo-rebrand gamechanger"). As usual, this history is obscure enough to be overlooked, even by those who shouldn't; BarçaUniversal only knew about the Christmas match. Barça's official site has more and important info on earlier games, but still tells it in a weird way: "Previously the stadium had hosted two other matches with female participation, in 1967 and 1969, but these were with teams that had been created only for that occasion, unlike Selecció Ciutat" (so, if it wasn't Barça, it didn't exist). Clubs and FAs aren't so good at giving the full story. ⬤ "That Sunday, 28 March 1971, Penya Femenina Barcelonista played with Llansà, Trullas, Ros, Merche, Marisa, Blanca, Cárdenas, Lolita, Inmaculada, Gasull, (Luisa) and Estivill (Corta). Cárdenas made it 1-0 just three minutes into the game but Encarna led the Blue-and-Whites' comeback by scoring in the 14th and 55th minutes. "Espanyol, a club with a strong tradition in women's football, won that first derby in fine style. For Barça, who were not yet a Barça club, it represented the first sketches of a section that became official in 2002 and professional in 2015." - ("Se cumplen 49 años de la primera final femenina de fútbol en Catalunya", Mundo Deportivo / Archive) ⬤ "the Camp Nou welcomed some 30,000-plus spectators. The third-place playoff opened the morning's action, with Sant Andreu beating Sabadell 2-1. In the final, Espanyol earned a 2-1 win over the Barça-associated women's team." - ("49 years since first women's football final in Catalonia", FCBarcelona.com / Archive) ⚽“Women’s football is making its way, and it is coming to Barcelona. So much so, that a nice lady has come to ask us for assistance in her desire to form a team of good players. “Inmaculate Cabecerán, as she is called, has the project to organise a women’s soccer team within the sphere of CF Barcelona [as the team was known during the Franco era]. ... “The possible aspiring players should keep in mind that the ‘debut’ of the team will be Christmas Day at the Barcelona stadium. “As complementary information, let’s say that in the North there are already 24 women’s teams and in Madrid 3. So, ladies, to play football.” - (Revista Barcelonista, 1970) "'I did not hesitate one second. I loved playing football with my brother in the streets of Sarrià and I was very excited to be able to play for Barça, the club that the whole family followed', recalls Carme. 'When we introduce ourselves, all of us very clueless girls look at each other and think: what are we doing here? But Barça sent us Ramallets and César to act as coaches for us'." - ("Carme Nieto / La semilla del Barça Femenino" - by Begoña Villarrubia, Mundo Deportivo / Archive) Women's football is recorded in Spain/Iberia as early as 1914, and tour games in the 1920s in South America and with French and English clubs. The 1970 penalty shootout is certainly 'curious': it was still a new invention, and not 1 but 2 of the 4 goals for the old Barça club were scored by the same player: Imma Cabecerán, a major figure in the team's history. - "How a 17-year-old girl fought for women’s football in Barcelona: The forgotten story of the pioneering Inmaculada Cabecerán Soler" - (Joanne O’Riordan, Irish Times) Imma Cabecerán, 1970
I'll admit I didn't read all of the pages you've linked to in your post. Does any of them confirms if it was called "Pernod Cup" because sponsored by the French liquor?
Yeah, of course! It was the '70s, nearly everything was sponsored by alcohol. One brand was the name sponsor of the Women's World Cup 1970 (Italy), and main sponsor of the 1971 World Cup in Mexico too. That's if they weren't being sponsored by poultry products. #funkychicken Japan history 1976: 'The first Chicken League winners'