The Senior Team is the pinacle of the Women's game, which is now the m

The Senior Team is the pinacle of the Women's game, which is now the most popular female sport in England. The F.A. took over the running of the England Women's Team in 1993, although the first international match was played in 1972 under the leadership of the Women's Football Association.

England's greatest achievement in recent years was reaching the quarter finals of the FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden in 1995, and the team is now making great progress under Hope Powell, the first full-time National Coach for Women's football.

The Team competes in the qualifying competitions for the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship, which both run every four years. The team reached the finals of the 2001 European Championship, held in Germany last summer.

A new qualifying campaign for the 2003 World Cup, to be held in China, has now begun. England are pitted against European Champions Germany, Holland and Portugal in an extremely tough group.

The Football Association has committed to an ambitious development programme which is aimed at producing an England team capable of winning the World Cup by 2007.

The F.A. Women's National Player Development Centre has been launched, to provide the best possible coaching, technical support for current and potential England internationals, alongside a comprehensive educational programme of further and higher education.