Alice Milliat arrived in Paris in 1908, drawing on her experience in England, where she had become familiar with the advanced women's sports of the time (notably hockey, football, and especially rowing, in which she would become a champion). She quickly encountered resistance from French and international sports authorities, who excluded women from many competitions, including the Olympic Games.

Frustrated by the lack of institutional support, she decided to create the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI) in 1921. This federation, the first of its kind, was dedicated exclusively to the development and promotion of women's sport. With the FSFI, Alice Milliat organized the World Women's Games in 1922, a series of international competitions that offered women the opportunity to compete in athletics and other disciplines.

The success of these Games, first held in Paris in 1922, attracted attention and put pressure on men's sports organizations, particularly the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to gradually open their doors to female athletes. The founding of the FSFI thus marked a decisive turning point in the history of women's sport, initiating a movement of sporting emancipation for women worldwide.

As women's sport became more integrated into the Olympic Games programs thereafter, the international women's federations were dissolved in the 1930s.