Women's football enjoying post-Euros boost, says Salisbury player
England retained their Euros crown in July with victory on penalties over Spain
Women's football in Wiltshire is enjoying a major boost in the wake of England's Lionesses retaining the European Championship this summer.
Sarina Wiegman led England to back-to-back titles in July, defeating Spain on penalties in the Final.
Salisbury Ladies striker, Leanne Ford, says it has led to more women and girls getting on the pitch and more people attending matches.
"The league that we play in has had a lot more teams join it and my daughter has recently joined a new team and there's quite a number of girls that have all joined sort of the same time as her as well," she said.
Leanne added that it's "nice to see" that more women and girls are realising that football isn't just a sport for boys and men anymore.
Ahead of this season, 23 new women's and girls teams were affiliated with the Wiltshire FA, bringing the county's total up to 217.
Leanne told us the improvements at grassroots level have been significant, meaning young girls get to play most weekends, rather than having gaps of three-weeks between fixtures.
She's seen first hand the growth of the game at grassroots level.
She said: "Me, my football coach and a couple of the girls from the team went around some of the other Salisbury girls teams, just to do a session for them as well.
"It was really good to see just how many girls teams are actually out there of all different ages as well."
Improvements in the number of girls teams is giving girls the chance to play in teams with their peers, rather than in mixed teams in early age groups.
The pathways are being created from newcomers to adult women's football.
Leanne is urging parents with daughters taking an interest in football to encourage them to play.
She says it's important to go to all local clubs and enquire about spaces, but there are also groups offering girls a chance to learn their skills without the pressure of being thrown into matches.