Brazil is notorious for how women footballers are treated. The fact that the nation produced someone as wonderfully talented as Marta is all but a miracle. The trials and tribulations she went through just to be able to play football are phenomenal.

Scandanavia does have very strong leagues but they are semi-professional. The difference between that part of the world and the US is size and economic viability of the leagues. There is the financial scope for a women’s league to be successful in America that possibly there isn’t anywhere else. Though it’s worth noting that Tonya Antonucci, the head of the WPS in America, stated before the league’s launch nearly 12 months ago that they wouldn’t have put the WPS together had they known that the Global financial crisis was on its way.

Perceptions and attitudes towards women’s sport is also key right across the globe.

Why havent places like Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Argentina, Brazil or even England got anything better than this? After all in these places, futbol is pretty much the only sport worth mentioning and in the USA, futbol is simply a part of a wider sporting diet.

The problem with the lack of professionalism around women’s football is that it prevents the game from developing on both a tactical and technical level.

The upside to that though is that there’s more space between the lines in women’s football. That means there’s still a place for your ‘foot on the ball’ type players. That’s a good thing in my books.

It is entirely subsidised by the NBA and the mens club chiefs aren’t happy about that.

They have recently cut the roster size down and the mens salary cap is over 50 times that of the womens.

yeah, I think so – - there’s certainly ‘professional’ and then “PROfessional”.

btw – that photo for this article is my least admired element of soccer – - multiple heads all vying to hit the same ball at about the same time at about the same point in space………….no thanx……….I’d take my chances in the boxing ring!!! (with reference to Spiro’s point on the ‘sweet science’)

Noting that the Rugby codes and Aust Footy in Australia have traditionally had stuff all female focus and participation – especially beyond age 14-15.

This has been changing gradually. Although many women have stuck with the touch/recreational variants.

Interesting to see the push for RU in the Olympics and the need to prove female participation. Thus far – - this should be a very, very tough thing to do.

The main issue now is around professionalism and sustainable incomes. We see enough of the segregated competition benchmarking mens vs womens re tennis especially, also golf. On other levels, via cricket, soccer and netball – professional wages are at the lower end and very much under par with male counterparts. For good reason obviously. It’s the capacity to develop and grow the market, the interest and the coverage that will dictate the long term sustainability of professional womens leagues of any sport.

This has been where, from the team sport perspective – the WNBA in the US has been perhaps a world leader in more recent times of providing pretty good coverage, competition and pay packets and Australia’s Penny Taylor and Lauren Jackson have benefitted grandly.