Sheffield has never truly got behind womens' football - support for roaring Lionesses has smashed our excuses

England's incredible Lionesses, with a sprinkling of South Yorkshire grit amongst the squad, captured the imagination of the entire country this month with their Euros journey.

It culminated in glory at Wembley on Sunday night, in front of a record crowd, as they beat Germany to capture the trophy.

Across the country, millions watched on TV and thousands came together to cheer on their new idols in parks and town centres, not least in Sheffield where a heaving Devonshire Green was a sea of white and red.

Our city has come out of this competition well and deserves a huge amount of credit for stepping forward to host matches when, as an emotional former England international turned TV presenter Alex Scott pointed out, some "weren't brave enough to see what it could have been."

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Dutch, Swedish and Swiss fans were welcomed with open arms to Sheffield for their matches and in turn they brought a colour to the city that hadn't been seen since the men's competition was held here in 1996.

Then, the icing on the cake... a semi-final featuring a victory for England at a packed Bramall Lane.

We've long been advocates for women's football here. The region has consistently been at the forefront of trying to grow the game even through the worst of times.

Sheffield & Hallamshire Women and Girls League is a vibrant, well-run organisation that provides football opportunities for thousands, thanks to the time and effort of volunteers who offer so much.

Well-established clubs continue to add girls teams and new ones spawn as popularity grows.

There remain many barriers to cross, not least in schools where some appear to be surprised that dozens of their female pupils play football at the weekend and offer little in the way of opportunity to do so in school time.

Anecdotal evidence suggests schools have yet to get to grips with the rise and given that young people spend the majority of their time there, the education system is falling behind in its provision for what girls want and need from a health and well-being perspective.

Again, anecdotally, those that do offer football as an option are often, perhaps subconsciously, guilty of the same kind of inequality that women's football has forever faced.

"We can't play today, the boys are using the pitch."

"Sorry, no match this week, the boys' team has the bus again."

"Yeah, you'll have to wear that, it's the only kit we've got. Just tuck it in."

Generally though, Sheffield and South Yorkshire, leads the way in offering opportunities for any girl who wants to play.

It's at the top end where the support falls short. Girls' football is thriving. Women's football in Sheffield and the surrounding areas, not so much.

Doncaster Belles were pioneers of the game in this country. Without financial backing and support in the stands, they've drifted down the divisions, unable to maintain the standard, in a financial sense, that is needed to push on into the higher echelons of the sport.

Sheffield FC, the oldest club in the world of course, were also once at the forefront of the women's game but they too didn't have the financial support or the people through the gates needed to enter the top leagues and have since slipped down.

And what about the city's two biggest clubs.

Despite having a superbly run girls set-up from under 9s to under 16s, the women's team is barely an afterthought at Sheffield Wednesday. They are seemingly an Owls side in name alone, with very little backing coming from the parent club to help push them on to bigger and better things. There's a huge opportunity being wasted here, such is Wednesday's influence in the city.

Then there's Sheffield United, our highest ranking team, playing in the second tier. There was a time a few seasons ago when it looked as though they would be heading for the Womens Super League but those ambitions appear to have stalled a little.

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Some weeks there are decent crowds but those are few and far between.

It hasn't helped that they have been moved from pillar to post, sometimes at the last minute. Last season they played 'home' fixtures at Chesterfield's ground and Rotherham United's, as well as at Bramall Lane.

The women's team were due to move into the new near-4,000 capacity Olympic Legacy Park which would have been their permanent home. It would have been the perfect size and perfect facility.

A petty squabble behind the scenes appears to have put paid to that and it's the women who have suffered.

Thankfully, in terms of consistency at least, they are now settled on staging all their matches at Bramall Lane for the upcoming season, which begins in a few week’s time.

The thousands who turned up at S6 this summer and those who came to watch on the big screen have shown that interest in watching women play football is here.

Now it is up to you, as football fans, to give them the support they need if they are to truly thrive.

The women need you to come out and watch them, otherwise the hype around England's success will have all been for nothing.

The hard work is being done to coach the next generation of Millie Brights. Those young girls need to see that people are now going to actually turn up for them.

The kids are inspired, now let them dream of playing in front of more than a few hundred people.