In the year of FIFA Women's World Cup, Google wanted to position itself as the ultimate source of information about football, with useful and accessible content. But while diving into the history of women's football, and impactful fact was found (and with few results on Google). From 1921 to 1979, women's football was legally banned in several countries, such as England, Germany, France, and Brazil. Many women continued to play in secret, but that period of history remained untold - even on Google. And for a company with a mission of organizing the world's information, this was a big deal. So, for the 1st time, instead of people searching for stories on Google, Google went searching for stories on people.

Between 1921 and 1979, women’s football was banned in several countries, such as the UK, Brazil, Germany and France. From the "fear of masculinization of women" to "a sport against women's nature", they were considered off sides — a football term that means an irregular position on the pitch.

Many women defied this oppression and kept on playing, yet this period of history has remained untold. So for the first time, instead of people searching for stories on Google, Google went searching for stories on people.

In collaboration with the Football Museum, Google portrayed this forgotten era by launching a completely empty museum. And to fill in this historical gap, anyone could digitally submit documents, photos and memorabilia from that time. With thousands of stories received and curated, The Offside Museum became the world's largest crowdsourced search for gender equality, giving life to 6 permanent exhibitions — available on Google Arts & Culture — and an open source travelling exhibition.

From 1921 to 1979, women’s football was banned in several countries. Many brave women kept on playing, yet this period of history has remained untold. To fill a historical gap that couldn't be found through Google's search bar, we gave a twist to the search logic: instead of people searching for stories on Google, for the first time in history, Google went searching for stories on people.

So in collaboration with the Football Museum, Google portrayed this forgotten era by launching a completely empty museum. And to fill in this historical gap, anyone could digitally submit documents, photos and memorabilia from that time. With thousands of stories received and curated, The Offside Museum became the world's largest crowdsourced search for gender equality, giving life to 6 exhibitions unveiled during Women's World Cup finals.

To fill a historical gap that couldn't be found through Google's search bar, we gave a twist to the search logic: instead of people searching for stories on Google, for the first time in history, Google went searching for stories on people.

The Offside Museum brought generations together, from the oldest to the youngest. United, they were mobilized to find documents, photos, and memories from the banning years of women's football - and many of these old records were not even in digital formats.

When football was a topic with significant media attention due to the World Cup, Google managed to associate itself with the sport (which initially seemed distant) in a proprietary way: through information. More than that, helping to make a historical correction by filling the almost 50 years of banning women's football with untold stories, to inspire the future.

In collaboration with the Football Museum, we portrayed this forgotten era by launching a completely empty museum. And to fill in this historical gap, anyone could digitally submit documents, photos and memorabilia from that time.

Through an integrated campaign featuring pioneer heroes from that time, like Marileia Santos, all time top scorer who started her career during the prohibition, and Lea Campos, world's first referee, arrested 15 times for never giving up football, The Offside Museum mobilized women from that time to find documents, photos, and memories from the banning years of women's football.

With thousands of stories received and curated, The Offside Museum became the world's largest crowdsourced search for gender equality, giving life to 6 exhibitions unveiled during Women's World Cup finals.

By finding the untold story of women's football, a historical correction was made and all stories are now universally accessible, useful and more representative, pushing gender equality beyond Google’s commitments to reach its own database as a long-term legacy to inspire new generations.

As a global crowdsourcing effort in search for a hidden period of history, The Offside Museum gathered thousands of memories of true heroes worldwide, making documents, memorabilia and photographs from that time preserved and available, not just physically at Football Museum secure archives or travelling exhibitions, but also via Google Arts & Culture — for everyone, everywhere around the globe.

With 1 MM visitors and 78 countries reached so far, The Offside Museum sparked a global debate about gender equality, becoming worldwide news on 150+ major media outlets.

Google finds the untold story of women's football

— ESPN

The history is no longer blank

— Yahoo