Women's football has been played in England for over a century, sharing a common history with the men's game as the country in which the Laws of the Game were codified. Although women's football was originally very popular in the early 20th century, after an almost terminal decline it has only been since the 1990s that the game has seen a large increase in female players, as well as in female spectators, culminating in England hosting the Women's European Championships in 2005.