Arthur Hobbs

Arthur Henry Hobbs (c. 1923 – 1975) was a British football administrator who has been described as the 'father of women's football' in the United Kingdom. He ran the successful Deal International Tournament and was later instrumental in starting the Women's Football Association, serving as its first secretary in 1969.

Early life and career Hobbs was born in c. 1923 in Wincanton, in Somerset. He was a carpenter and played amateur football.

Enthusiastic about women's football, Hobbs ran a team in Deal Dover GPO were the winners. he was its first secretary when it held its first meeting that November. He stepped down for health reasons in 1972, the year of the last Deal Tournament.

Personal life Hobbs and his wife Mary adopted a son and a daughter. His wife was killed in a car accident in the early 1970s; he died of a heart attack in 1975.