Women’s World Cup likely to boost female football

“If I were to be critical of the men’s game, it’s that the physicality has gone too far, particularly in the Premier League One”, says Phil Murphy, who owns Sky Blue FC, a women’s football franchise in New Jersey.

Mr Murphy, who is also the US ambassador to Germany, argues that women’s football can have a different appeal.

“I think there’s much more emphasis in the women’s game on making the right pass, on the flow of the game,” he says. “I like the flow better. I like that part of the game.”

Mr Murphy thinks that, commercially, much will depend on the emergence of “heroes” in this World Cup.

If it produces a star, then the numbers of people bearing money to ticket booths and television channels will rise.

The organisers, too, think that this World Cup is very important in setting a tone, forming an image of the game.

The president of the organising committee, Steffi Jones, who played 111 times for Germany, told the BBC: “For the world, it’s important to show that it can be sold out.”

She hopes that good football played by women will draw in other women, particularly in countries where women have a tough time of life in general.