The development of girls’ and women’s grass-roots soccer

The chapter examines the long-term impact of different gender regimes on the development of girls’ and women’s grass-roots soccer. Employing policy feedback theory as well as sport geography, it is argued that former communist regions in East Germany show an unfavorable combination of macro-economic and institutional legacies, which serve as barriers for further growth in girls’ and women’s soccer. The chapter finds evidence for a substantial long-term increase in the number of girls’ and women’s soccer grass-roots teams but also for stagnation and a detrimental impact of communist legacies. The results defy, however, a deterministic perspective on the impact of macro-social factors and institutional legacies. Rather, the key importance of organizational decision and priorities is indicated.