'Girls' football almost as big as boys' - captain

The captain of Northampton Town Women believes there is "no longer a big difference between boys' and girls' football" due to the growth of the women's game.

Zoe Boote, who plays at full-back, says she has seen a "massive rise" in the number of people interested "at every level".

It comes as figures seen by the BBC showed the number of female teams in England more than doubled in the last seven years.

The biggest spike in Football Association (FA) registrations came in the months following England's 2-1 win over Germany in the final of Euro 2022.

"The increased coverage obviously allows more people to watch it at the elite level like the WSL (Women's Super League), England and international tournaments," Ms Boote, a teacher, said.

"Even at our level, we've seen a massive rise in people interested and coming down to watch. It really needed the extra coverage."

Every county football association in England that took part in a recent study, reported seeing a rise in female teams, bringing the total to more than 16,000.

Ms Boote, who, at six-years-old started playing for a boys' team after watching her brother play, said while she welcomed the rise in the women's game there was still some way to go.

She wanted to see better access to coaching and facilities through schools and local clubs.

"Every girl should have somewhere to go and play football on their doorstep," she added.

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