PARIS: With Olympique Lyonnais leading the way at club level, France is ready to complete its women’s football development when it hosts the 2019 World Cup, the French federation’s vice-president has said. In 2017, France had around 105,000 players registered, similar to England, with Germany leading the way in Europe with 209,000, according to a UEFA report. “We are hoping to break the barrier of 200,000 women with a licence after the World Cup,” said Henriques. “After the men’s World Cup in 2018, we gained 15,000 women with a licence. “Our youth training programme is a model, just like our men’s,” the 48-year-old said.

Source: Pakistan Today March 22, 2019 11:15 UTC