From a social and cultural science perspective, the authors trace how body and gender relations have been historically and culturally shaped through discourses and practices in the field of football. Contrary to the assumption that movement and play styles are 'natural' forms of bodily expression, gender-related differences and hierarchies in football are understood as effects of social practice. These are reflected not only in cultural images and attributions of and to women playing football but also manifest primarily in structural and spatial arrangements, as well as in the economic and power interests of the sport. The history of women's football, its organization, media representations, and not least the cultural practices indicate that a successful and lasting self-positioning of women in...