How can the fans invest in them emotionally and financially if they don’t consider women footballers as professional footballers? How can the little girls watching football at home ever desire to play football for life?

This is aimed at the Presidents and CEOs and other so-called leaders of the footballing world. 

It is time to look at female football with the same level of respect as the male game. It is time to stop looking at footballers, all footballers but especially female footballers as commodities and start looking at them as athletes. It is time to invest, and it is time to respect.

If we accept the game's leaders wilfully refusing to support or respect female athletes, then they are going to take matters in their own hands. 

The seeds are already being sewn, there are trailblazers across the world fighting for change. Macarena Sanchez, for example, is an Argentinian footballer, leading the charge for equality almost single-handed.  

In 2018, Macarena became the first female footballer from Latin America to seek legal action against her club and national association. 

"I think what stops women's football being seen as professional in Argentina is the strong machismo and patriarchy. If our society does not entirely accept women's football, it's because someone put in their heads that this sport is only for men. This is the biggest challenge we women face," said Sanchez.

The most high-profile recent example is the USWNT taking the US football association to court over the discrepancy in payment allocations and the minutiae of professional support between the male and the female team. 

They are the start of the revolution; the disrespect and lack of support has hit a critical mass and the women of the world are starting to collaborate and legislate for an equal opportunity to play the game they love. 

Where will you stand when the dust settles, and history has been written? Did you stand in the way of progress? Did you remain idle when those around you were proactive? Did you perpetuate the disrespect, or did you provide the support that these professional athletes needed?

So, how?

The question of payment is easier in some circumstances than others. 

In Australia, the collective bargaining agreement was negotiated to parity because the women’s team can generate comparative sums to the men's team due to their increased competitiveness on the world stage. 

Chris Nikou, Chairman of Football Federation Australia, had this to say at the conclusion of the negotiations for the collective bargaining agreement:

"For the first time, player remuneration will be directly tied to the revenues generated by our National Teams -- this will create a sustainable financial model that incentivises players and FFA to collaborate and grow the commercial pie together."