The rise in profile of the women’s game in England has been more noticeable in the past year than at any other stage in its history.  There are a number of reasons for this – the success of the inaugural Women’s Premier League this season; the hosting of the UEFA Women’s Champions League final at Craven Cottage in May and of course the huge success of the sixth FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.  However, it is not all about of the onfield progress.  It is the progress of what is going on behind the scenes.

One thing is for sure.  The amount of dedication of key individuals off the field will make the on field success even more noticeable in the years to come.  We have already spoken to one of the most respected female officials in the Northern Leagues, Linzi Robinson, and in the coming weeks we will be talking to the manager of Lewes Ladies, Jacquie Agnew, on the success of the Sussex club.

But in one of those random Google searches we all do once in awhile we managed to stumble upon Tracey Crouch.  Qualified Football coach, Spurs fan and Conservative MP for Chatham and Aylesford.  Two out of three isn’t bad I suppose.  I met up will Tracey at Portcullis House a few weeks ago and was bowled over by her enthusiasm for the game.  Regularly checking her Blackberry, not for updates on policy making, but on whether Modric would be staying at White Hart Lane, we chatted for an hour about the game, the politics and why Clive Allen left Arsenal after just 7 weeks and zero competitive appearances for the club. Continue reading →