Mithali Raj Quotes

The growth of women's soccer and women's sports all around the world has been slow.

When I was growing up, you didn't know there was a women's national team. Now girls grow up dreaming of playing for Canada.

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.

Clearly, those of us women who play football wish that there was more coverage. But it's one of those things that happens. Every year the level is getting higher, and I think we surprise a lot of people when the world focuses its attention on the World Cup or the Olympics final.

The Women's World Cup gives FIFA a chance, once every four years, to showcase the growth of women's soccer. It gives FIFA a highly visible opportunity to encourage countries around the globe to also support their women's programs. It gives FIFA the forum to show countries the potential of women's soccer if only you support it.

I want young girls to dream about being professional soccer players instead of just watching the boys go out and play.

Women's sport is growing, becoming powerful, and we want to continue to raise that platform for the young girls at home.

For me looking at the success of some of the women's football World Cups, the crowds they've drawn, the spectacle it has created and the event that it's been I think it's really great cricket is having a go at that as well.

Growing up, I looked up to major league baseball players, and now these young women have amazing, incredible women all across the board, from swimming to gymnastics to softball to basketball. It is incredible how far women have come and women in sports have come.

The Women's Sports Foundation has empowered so many young girls and women across the U.S. I benefitted from WSF with a travel and training grant when I was 12 years old. It really helped my family financially.

We encourage the growth of women's hockey.

Norway has a great history of women's football, but it's harder now. We've stopped talking about development, and other countries have overtaken us.

I think a lot of sporting organisations are really sitting up and taking notice, putting in some great programs and investing a lot into women's sports.

Clubs in other countries can step up, and we can kick on with women's football even more.

Sometimes women's soccer can be political.

I'm very privileged to be a professional footballer, and I want to encourage more young girls to play.

All of us follow men's cricket because we want at some point that women's cricket would be up there.

The image of women's football has definitely changed. Now we've got to make sure it keeps developing.

We've got two semi-professional leagues; we've got many other leagues, more coaching opportunities for youngsters. You never had that when I was younger. You had to go and join in with the boys - that helped me as a player, but I think girls feel more confident playing with other girls of the same age.

When I was a kid, the women like Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain were paving the way for female players in the States. Things like that are important so girls realise there is a future for them if they want to play. It is something they can aspire to, to be not just a hobby.

The women's game has come on leaps and bounds.

We don't really compare ourselves to the men's game or what they do. For us, it's about trying to get more people involved in the women's games.

As a result of Title IX, and a new generation of parents who want their daughters to have the opportunities they never had, women's sports have arrived.

Gender equality cannot be achieved by cutting programs that allow girls to get the same chance to compete, learn, and play. The United States has had a solid history of commitment to its female athletes and expanding opportunity for women, and it is imperative that we continue on this path.

The Women's Sports Foundation holds a unique position in developing opportunities for girls and women of all abilities to be active whether recreationally or competitively, and I'm excited to help lead the organization to impact even more lives. It is an honor to continue to build the legacy created by Billie Jean King and all of our leaders.