Record crowds are expected at this summer’s Women’s Euros, with all three of England’s group stage matches already sold out.
Of course, Scotland failed to qualify for the tournament, so I will be a regular fan when the tournament rolls around.
England will kickstart their campaign at Old Trafford, where they face Austria following the opening ceremony.
They will then head to Brighton’s American Express Community Stadium to face Norway, before a final group game at St Mary’s, Southampton, where they will take on Northern Ireland.
The hype around the tournament is yet to really get going, but the build-up is expected to ramp up in the next few weeks as the domestic league concludes.
England hosting the tournament has the potential to make an enormous impact on the broader women’s game across the UK – boosting both the involvement and infrastructure at grassroots level, all the way up to growing the market value of the FAWSL’s professional top flight.
With Wembley Stadium also sold out for the final on July 31, more women’s football records will be broken. If the 87,000 capacity stadium is packed out, as expected, it will break the previous record attendance for a women’s game in England, which was set at the London 2012 Olympics.
While there is much to be excited for, including the filled-stands, this week also seen some – perhaps understandable – criticism levelled at tournament organisers.
Landmark stadiums such as Old Trafford and Wembley will certainly make the matches there special occasions, however, there has been scrutiny over other confirmed venues.
With a wealth of fantastic stadiums to choose from across England, the use of the Manchester City Academy Stadium and Leigh Sports Village does seem rather puzzling and a little disrespectful for such a significant occasion.
Still so much to play for in FAWSL
This weekend will see the return of a full schedule across the English top flight.
Since the players returned to their clubs following the international break, most have had an extended period of preparation because last weekend played host to the FA Cup semi-finals and, as a result, only four teams were thrust straight back into action.
This weekend all focus returns to the FAWSL business, with most teams only having three games left to decide their fate and a lot still to play for.
Relegation looks almost unavoidable for Birmingham, as they trail Leicester by seven points, having only earned five across the entire season so far. Incredibly, three of those came against league contenders Arsenal.
They will travel to Brighton on Saturday, where anything short of three points could be fatal. To make matters worse, they will then face Chelsea and Manchester City to add even more desperation to their circumstances.
At the summit of the table, top spot and the Champions League continue to be hotly contested.
The Gunners – struggles against Birmingham apart – have led almost the entire year, but Chelsea have been dogged in their chase and their relentless form has finally pushed them into pole position by a single point.
Both clubs have an extra match to play and both have challenging run-ins. It is all set up for one of the most exciting finishes to an FAWSL season ever seen.
This weekend is a London derby – as Chelsea will face Spurs on the road before a return fixture on Thursday night. This double-header is being labelled a real banana skin for Chelsea in their title chase.
However, with Sam Kerr and Bethany England both in the top five goalscorers for the season and both leading the frontline for Emma Hayes, Chelsea are still firm favourites for the meetings with Tottenham.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are also on their travels this weekend, as they head to a tricky, but under-performing Everton side.
The Gunners lost 2-0 last weekend to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals and, after such a flawless beginning to the campaign, it is now possible they could end the season trophyless. They must now show quality and resilience to keep pressure on the new leaders – and hope for a slip-up.
The other big prize on offer is the third and final Champions League place, and the big rivalry for this spot is between the two Manchester clubs.
City are one of two teams to have won all of their last five league matches and, with the added momentum of last weekend’s FA Cup semi-final win over West Ham, they have clawed their way back into contention.
City host Leicester City and United will travel to play us, Aston Villa, in the latest installment of a race where there is no room for error for either.
The final match-up this weekend is Reading against West Ham, which might be the only tie where neither side has much to play for other than pride.
Quadruple dream alive for Barca
Barcelona are still on track to complete a historic quadruple as the first leg of the Uefa Women’s Champions League semi-final took place on Friday in front of another record crowd at Camp Nou.
Barca are on course to lift a famous four trophies before the season finishes, with the league title already clinched, along with the Spanish Super Cup.
Barcelona hope to add to that with a back-to-back Champions League success and the Copa de la Reina.
