England and Arsenal great Rachel Yankey believes the fact she's been able to head down the pub to follow the progress of England's women to the final of the Euros this Sunday is a sign of how the game continues to evolve.
The Lionesses made light work of Sweden, the world's second highest-ranked team, on Tuesday evening to make the final at Wembley. England's women put four past their opponents at Bramall Lane and will now take on Germany, with their ascent capturing the country's imagination.
The women's game continues to rise at a huge rate and aspects of English culture, that are normally synonymous with the men's game, are now filtering over. Yankey was one of millions of fans to watch the game on the big screen and feels as though that is a huge takeaway which emphasises the progress.
She told Mirror Football: "It has been good, if you can't get to the game so many people have been doing events or hosting it. I'm down here at a Greene King pub, which are going to show it on Sunday. It just kind of normalises football that if you're a fan and you can't get to a game, like men's football, go and watch it in a pub.
"I've never really experienced that. It is those little things that actually make this tournament feel special and different and I'm really happy about that. I don't think many people think of it like that, obviously I want the team to win, but the biggest thing is the impact. We've got so many big businesses looking to support the game, looking to make the players household names. It just increases the visibility."
Sarina Wiegman is looking to guide England to their first final success following several near misses in recent years. The Lionesses were undone in the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2019, shortly after the Women's Super League had turned professional.
England could now be about to reap the rewards on the international stage of changes made domestically. Yankey insists there has never been a question of quality when it comes to club level, but the switch to professionalism allows the players to further harness their quality.
She added: "The talent of the players has always been there, but what's happened more recently is the game's gone professional. That has allowed the players to be better, fitter, stronger, more educated, more refined in their training and skills because they're doing it every day. Therefore the product should always be better and in the future it'll be better."
To build excitement for the final Greene King are offering free drinks in over 700 sites across the UK with their Season Ticket App – sports fans can even get 10% off all purchases by downloading the app. What’s more, during the final on Sunday 10p from all Season Ticket drink sales will go to charity, Women In Sport.
