“When I was young, I took part in my first football camp with an established local club, and I was the only girl. They didn’t expect any girls to turn up, so the changing rooms were an issue. They ended up finding me an empty room to change in.

Even into adulthood when I started playing again at a grassroots level, I would turn up to clubs that didn’t have female changing rooms, and there would be naked men walking around, in and out of their changing rooms. Our coach would have to stand outside where we were changing to make sure no one just walked in.

It goes to show how much needs to happen in terms of normalising, promoting and investing in women athletes – not just financially but in terms of time. If we’re talking about football specifically, the men’s game didn’t get so advanced overnight. People need to give the same patience to the women’s game.

A good place to start would be better representation in the media. Even though women like me can play, very few are given a platform to be the ‘expert’ and for their voices to be heard at all levels.

This is so important in helping to encourage change. For girls to get into sport, they need someone to look up to, to know girls like them can be whatever they want and see that this isn’t just a man’s game any more.” 

Lucy Monkman is the face of all football content on Sports Direct’s channels and a Sports Direct Equal Play ambassador, encouraging female voices to become experts in the industry, not just players.

“My main worry as a female athlete has always been the thought of having children in the future and the impact that it would have on my career.

For a long time, there has been the message to women in athletics that if you get pregnant, your contract will come to an end or you’ll lose sponsorship money.

The sports industry allows for men to have a full career, and this has not always been the case for women, but people are speaking up, and changes are slowly starting to be made by sponsors regarding contracts and pregnancy.

There’s also a definite lack of understanding of the female body around the topic of periods.

I find that the time of the month really has an effect on my training, and I’ve definitely had experiences in the past with male coaches having a lack of understanding or knowledge of how to aid me during those times.

We definitely need better media representation, but aside from that, the biggest thing people can do to support women’s sport is to encourage the females in their life to participate or continue participating in sport.

The dropout rate of women in sport is much higher than it is with men, so encouragement and support is vital.”

“Being a woman in the sporting world, there is an obvious and undeniable disadvantage. Not being taken seriously is a big one. I’m asked things like how short my shorts are, if we play less minutes, if we even play the offside rule, etc.

Then there’s access to facilities. When I tore my MCL playing soccer at a division one college in America, my trainer did an excellent job, but access to equipment and treatment beds was usually prioritised for male athletes, despite my need.

Better funding for training and game day gear is vital, while equal pay is obviously a huge fight for female athletes. It’s no secret that women are paid a great deal less than men in sport.

The biggest thing that people outside the game can do is to advocate. Sharing social media posts, writing to local papers/councils, signing petitions and sharing news by word of mouth does more than people think.

Donating money where possible to local female teams and offering sponsorship is another way to increase support, spread awareness and, in turn, level the playing field.”