The Sportswoman, painted by the Soviet artist Ivan Semyonovich Kulikov (1928) presents a positive image of the game for women. This is in contrast to the attitude which is related in Yuri F Korshak's book Старый, старый футбол (Old , Old Football) which contains the following reference to women's football in pre revolutionary Russia:
In the spring of 1911 in Moscow there appeared a number of...women's football teams! The enthusiasts were senior schoolgirls. According to newspaper reports the 'ladies' of the team trained hard in preparation for matches. The press reported that a match did take place, but this was the end of women's football in Russia. Probably the players themselves realized football was not a game for women, and calmed down again.
