Women's footy ups game

Here's a great blog from Hope Powell, coach of England women's football team, on the huge strides the women's game is making in this country...

I can’t wait for next week’s feast of football in London. I’m particularly pleased to see the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final come here. It’s great the women’s game is getting some profile in its own right.

Craven Cottage is local for me, and I’m sure it will be a fantastic event. Fulham is a great location and it’s easy to get to, so I hope it will draw a decent crowd. In the future, it would be amazing if we could have the women’s final at somewhere like Wembley. It’s every player’s ambition to play in a stadium like that.

It’s great too that UEFA President Michel Platini hands the trophy to the winner. From a female perspective, having that level of person to present the trophy and value the game is fantastic.

This is a really important year for women’s football in this country. We launched our new summer league in April, we’ve got the Champions League Final coming up and then there’s the World Cup in June and July.

That’s three major events and a great opportunity to promote the women’s  game here. There may not be English teams involved, but we can still use it as a platform to build on.

It’s a really exciting and busy time for everyone involved in the women’s game and the Champions League final at Craven Cottage is the icing on the cake.

As UEFA ambassador, I’ll be watching the final between Olympique Lyonnais and 1.FFC Turbine Potsdam at Craven Cottage on 26 May.

With tickets a bargain £5 for adults and £3 for kids, where else are you going to see top European football at that price?