It’s not just England games that people want to watch and success for Bronze and her team-mates could help increase interest in the entire domestic game – as was demonstrated after Euro 2017.
The 2018 FA Women’s Cup final, in which Chelsea beat Arsenal, had a record attendance of 45,423 – a 29% increase from the year before.
In addition, the average attendances for the first Sunday of this year’s Women’s Super League were up 78% on the average of the first half of the 2015 season.
And the attendance of 4,835 watching the new Manchester United Women’s first match in the Continental Tyres Cup, against Reading on 25 August, surpassed the WSL league record of 4,096, set when Manchester City beat Chelsea in a September 2016 title decider.
“These pinnacle moments in the sport where a lot of the public are watching it and players are in profile – that can shift perceptions,” said Simmons.
“You need those special moments to allow us to really accelerate the game and break down those barriers.”
*All statistics provided by the Football Association