Just a few years ago, pre-season training for Stoke City's women sometimes included painting the dugout and removing litter from the pitch at a former working men's club in central England.
Now, in line with a global boom in women's football, they are being paid, receive instructions from a full-time coach, enjoy the same multi-million pound training facilities as the men - and no longer moonlight as rubbish collectors.
Attracting record crowds and television audiences, the tournament buoyed hopes that the women's game can start to bridge the yawning financial gap that exists with the men. In broadcast rights, the women's game has struggled to compete. The FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, threatened Europe's "Big 5" nations with a TV World Cup blackout unless their broadcasters upped their offers.
The question now is whether the vast audiences that tuned in to the World Cup can lead to larger broadcast rights and sponsorship deals for national sides and the domestic clubs that are needed to sustain interest outside of major tournaments. Players like Jill Scott, Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone have built up huge social media followings and signed multiple brand sponsorships, keeping their names and the game in the spotlight.Kieran Maguire, at the University of Liverpool, said the England national side then surpassed expectations by selling out Wembley stadium twice for matches outside major tournaments.
But both Chadwick and Carlota Planas, a Spain-based women's' football agent representing several World Cup players, argued that the women's game now offers the values of tenacity, resilience and togetherness, which can appeal to advertisers.
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