A slightly later POD I've always wanted to do something with is the Dick Kerr Ladies and the ban on women's football.
Essentially during WW1 and shortly afterwards, their were a series of charity exhibition games with the female workers of a preston factory, that included the first women's international game and were hugely popular.
On boxing day 1920, they played a game at Goodison Park, Liverpool that got 53,000 through the gates, when the average attendance at an everton home game was closer to 30,000. (To be fair, Everton did get 59,000 for the game on new years day so it was least partly a 'this is a bank holiday lets go the footie thing', you almost certainly wouldn't see those crowds on a non holiday).
Then in 1921, the FA said '
Complaints having been made as to football being played by women, Council felt impelled to express the strong opinion that the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged.
Complaints have also been made as to the conditions under which some of the matches have been arranged and played, and the appropriation of receipts to other than charitable objects. The Council are further of the opinion that an excessive proportion of the receipts are absorbed in expenses and an inadequate percentage devoted to charitable objects.
For these reasons the Council requests the Clubs belonging to the Association refuse the use of their grounds for such matches.'
With no league clubs being able to host them, the dick kerr team, later renamed preston ladies, were unable to attract big crowds in the UK anymore, though they did still play in front of big crowds when touring USA and Canada. English woman's football never took off.
It's difficult to not look at the current dire state of woman's football in the uk, where crowds are normally less than 1,000 people and not think there's a big missed opportunity there given the genuine public interest about the exhibition matches.
I know previously
@OwenM has suggested that if you move forward the football pools betting league a few years (otl, that was formed in 1923) you could see financial interests in favour of a second league which might lead to no ban. But well the Pools themselves were almost banned a bunch of times so they're probably not inclined to stick their neck out and there isn't really enough teams for the structure to be in place.