Former Arsenal and England forward Rachel Yankey believes there is "no reason why people won't watch women’s football" after record-breaking attendances in the Women's Super League.
As part of a dedicated women's football weekend, over 74,000 fans watched six Women's Super League games. The north London Derby was seen by 38,262 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium - a WSL attendance record.
Yankey, who made over 125 appearances for England, believes the figures show a big step in the right direction for women's football.
"It's unbelievable. There is a want for women's football and if you give people the opportunity, the access and the knowledge about where the games are, people will come and watch," she said.
"The atmosphere at all the games, especially the north London derby but also the game at Wembley (England's 2-1 defeat to Germany), has been brilliant. You hear and read what the players have been saying, it's a privilege for them to play in front of these fans."
However, Yankey admitted it may not be the right time just yet to have women's football at the bigger stadiums on a regular basis.
"The players shouldn't be playing there every week. They are not at this moment filling those stadiums," she added.
"They need to make sure they can transform those fans to attend future home games, week in, week out. That's probably the biggest thing."
When asked about the prospect of consistent larger attendances, the former Arsenal winger admitted there is still more to do, but was very optimistic about the future.
"It will take time - we still need to look at the product, up the game and make sure the standard is high," Yankey said.
"But these figures are showing us that there is no reason why people won't watch women's football. If the access and opportunity is there, I think it's the best time to jump on the game and show people that we can bring in the crowds.
"Five years ago, we were getting people to appreciate and be open-minded about the game. Now, big businesses want to be sponsors and invest in women's football.
"You've got massive crowds over 70,000 people this weekend watching their local teams, now we need to make sure the product on the pitch is good to keep people interested."
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