After England's electric win at Euro 2022, many women, including the Lionesses themselves, have been commenting at the lack of football for girls in school. Only six in ten schools in the UK currently offer football in physical education lessons for girls. 

Figures for secondary schools, are even worse. Less than half (44 per cent) of schools in England offer girls equal access to coaching in football. Joanne Linton, Chair of Weston Mendip FC, one of the largest independent women's football club in the the UK, says she's unsure why these numbers are so low. 

"I suspect it's down to the infrastructure, the training they've got within schools. There's certainly a lot of interest. We get given lot's of enquiries by schools so I think there must be something in the school system that's perhaps stopping girls from getting the opportunity to play", she explained. 

"The FA have worked really hard in the last few years to build up, with the help of FIFA to get girls to come into football", she added. 

"They usually start off with Wildcats - a grassroots level [club]. That's a good starting point. By the time they get to secondary school they'll be interested in playing more competitively so there's a good structure in place. But I think there is a gap between how schools can support that." But following last week's big win Joanne, along with many others, believe England's Euro win was a huge landmark for equality in football.

"To see the women up there on that big stage and performing really well and bringing home the trophy is exactly what we've all been working for. I didn't have the opportunity to play myself. But it really has come a long way and you can see that from how successful we've been." Given the surge in support for women's football, MPs in the UK have been calling for a 'shake-up' to the national curriculum to ensure both boys and girls can enjoy the sport. 

"It's so important to keep encouraging all the fans to go and watch the games and really get an interest in all of the fan bases across women's football. Getting into the schools and having teachers encourage the girls to play to give them that opportunity to participate on an equal footing with the boys," Linton told CGTN.