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In recent generations, women's sports have been a blessing. Some of us can remember the bad old days in the '50s, when we would discover in casual schoolyard play that a girl could outrun most of us or hold her own in basketball or hit a softball - but there were no teams, no coaches, for girls.

When the Olympics and World Cups come around, that's when you see the real outpouring of support that there really is for female football.

But the reason that women's football is still unknown is because it's not on television and not widely publicised for a wide majority of the leagues in the world.

Women's sports is still in its infancy. The beginning of women's sports in the United States started in 1972, with the passage of Title 9 for girls to finally get athletic scholarships.

When it comes to women, there has been a tendency to define women in sports in the context of their relationships - they watch games because their husbands watch. They're interested because their kids play a sport. They buy tickets to a sporting event because it's a way to spend time with family.

There were no women's players I knew of. I didn't even know women's hockey existed.

And of course in America you've got American football and baseball and all those other ball games, soccer has become a little niche that the women have kind of filled.

I think the concept of seeking fame and fortune in women's football in the States is a bit idyllic. Look at all the teams in America that have folded, and the leagues.

We live in a world where sports have the potential to bridge the gap between racism, sexism and discrimination. The 2012 Olympic Games was a great start but hopefully what these games taught us is that if women are given an opportunity on an equal playing field the possibilities for women are endless.