Arsenal and England captain Faye White is convinced this summer’s World Cup will help raise the profile of the women’s game.
White will lead her team out for their first Group B clash against Mexico in Wolfsburg, Germany, in less than four months and the 33-year-old defender believes the tournament can be a huge boost for the sport.
“This will be without doubt the best World Cup that there’s ever been,” said White.
“In 1999 America certainly put on a great show but the way Germany has gone about promoting it over the last few months means it’s going to be a massive occasion and you’ll have some of the best players in the world there.”
Expectations will be high for the English women after having reached the Euro 2009 final, which they lost 6-2 to Germany, and the Gunners defender has called for the support of travelling fans at this summer’s event.
“For any player it’s a dream [to play at a World Cup] and we would love English football people to come out and support us. The players relish playing in front of a crowd.”
White, who was first selected to play for England aged 16, says the profile of the women’s game has been raised dramatically since she started playing in 1996.
“The development of the women’s game has moved on massively,” she added. “I certainly had no role levels to look up to and I never had the dream of playing for England because I didn’t even know there was an England team.
“What the girls get in terms of the coaching and playing with girls their own age, it’s all very different to when I started.”
(Photo: Paul Gregory/GNTO)
