Women's World Cup 2019

I am sad that the TV coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup has finished.

What a tremendous festival of football it has been over the last few weeks.

It has been hard to schedule in the televised games amongst family, work and social commitments but I can say that I have seen a very high proportion of them.

I am a keen follower of a lot of sports regardless of gender but the Women's World Cup has challenged my preconceived ideas and male prejudices far beyond what I would have expected.

Yes, my sexist and misogynistic hard wiring as a man has on occasion threatened to take over but I feel admonished to a degree in that I have been able to recognise the signs at an early stage.

I have not allowed these inherent traits to diminish in any respect the athleticism, skill, endurance and tactical prowess of the players.

I was a curious onlooker to start off with.

The emergence and increasing profile of Women's Football has awoken many to its level of performance. It has been a hard struggle to gain the recognition and attract the financial backing even in a sport where, in the Men's game we are ever more astounded by the wages and excesses although such things are very much regarded as the norm.

The historical background of women's participation in football is quite shameful in that a previous halcyon era in the inter war years in the UK was vindictively ended by the dark suited old men of the Football Association who imposed a ban on women's matches being played in the grounds of its League members.

This was in spite of mass popular support and huge attendances which propelled the likes of Lily Parr into a glorious, albeit short lived stardom.

Some years ago my eldest daughter trained with a local Under 12's male youth team but her obvious affinity for the game was always stifled when she was relegated to play with the "C" or "D" team when she should have been a regular First Team selection.

It was the case that Dads and Lads ruled the day and girls were kept in their place.

Some 17 years later she did get to play in a Women's League but I just think about all of those wasted years brought about as a direct consequence of male chauvinism, backward thinking and entrenched ideas.

At least young girls and women will benefit from the high profile attained by the current status of the game and get so many more opportunities where before that was obstructed and hindered.