How can England's Euro 2022 win help grow the game?

 After a number of false dawns in recent years when the Lionesses have made it to the semi-finals of major tournaments, it's a question the FA has been mulling over for some time.

The lesson from London 2012 – when the staging of a major event delivered similar inspiration and record television audiences, but then failed to meaningfully improve sports participation or activity levels across the country – seems to be the case. The governing body has addressed this. Plans to tap into the excitement generated by hosting the tournament have been underway for some time. Ambitious targets have also been set, with the aim of tripling current average WSL attendances - currently averaging less than 2,000 - by 2024. The festive and friendly atmosphere at the Euro 2022 matches was a stark contrast to the disorder that marred the men's Euro final at Wembley last summer, and the pitch invasions that marred Premier League and EFL matches last season. A growing number were affected. This could start to convince more families to give WSL matches a chance next season, and there are already signs of an increase in demand for tickets. And in an Ipsos online poll of 1,000 British adults this summer, 44% of the British public - and 64% of self-described football fans - say they are more interested in watching women's football in the future. Amid disappointment that more big clubs were not interested in hosting Euro 2022 matches when the bid was launched five years ago, more Premier League clubs will now be under pressure to field their women's teams in their main stadiums. allow There will also be a demand to make it easier for fans to buy tickets. The FA will be asked to ensure women's league fixtures are more regular, with concerns that the season's schedule has been disrupted. Discussions about the Premier League running the WSL are ongoing, and there have been suggestions that private equity investors could try to buy the league. But the concern is that at grassroots level, inheritance may still be undermined by lack of provision and facilities. Only 44% of secondary schools currently provide equal access to football in PE lessons. In some parts of the country, women's and girls' teams are struggling to secure playing spots. The Government has announced a review of housewives sport, pledging £230m to build or improve grassroots facilities, but others say cuts to local authority budgets in recent years have meant communities There is a shortage of pitches. The FA says that by 2024 it wants 75% of schools to give girls equal access to the game and 75% of all grassroots clubs to field at least one girls' team, one for every 1,000 girls. Provide the full recognized path. The FA hopes the Euros can create half a million extra opportunities for women and girls to play sport. At a time when more than half of all women in the UK do not exercise, the importance of this opportunity cannot be overestimated. Hitesh Patel, director of the Sport for Development Coalition, said, “This presents an amazing opportunity for the country to really unite behind how sport can drive positive social change, become more diverse and address deeply embedded inequalities.

"These athletes will not only be role models for a generation of young women and girls, but they can help shine a light on how sport and physical activity are helping underrepresented individuals and communities." Especially in the context of covid-19 and the crisis of precious lives. "Involving more women and girls, and increasing diversity in sport, is only the first part of how sport can help build a better future." This is the moment the FA has been hoping for since 2009 when it awarded the women players a central contract, gave them a home at St George's Park, and began offering the Lionesses unprecedented support. Those efforts culminated at Wembley on Sunday, and now a golden opportunity to change the landscape of women's sport, and greater gender equality, has presented itself. Improving attendances and tackling inequities in pay, prize money, coverage and sponsorship will not be a quick fix. But it is an opportunity that the FA, clubs, media, sponsors and government will be expected to seize. And the FA's head of women's football, Baroness Sue Campbell, says the process must be managed with "great care". She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think there will be an influx of money, there will be an influx of people now seeing that it has commercial value, that's all right, great, us women. We want a lot of support for the game. We want a lot of investment. "But we all need to be responsible about how we handle the future and make sure we don't lose the essence and the feeling. People talk to me about how we How has shown that the beautiful game is back. We want the women's game to survive.