It was never a case of male and female when I was growing up. I played with my cousins, my friends. From a young age, I played on the local streets, just with my neighbours. The majority would be boys, but a couple would be girls, so I never really thought too hard about it.

There weren't any opportunities to be a professional women's player until I was 16 and the WSL was formed.

I'm proud to say that my sister was the first female boxer in the Olympics. That's history. She made her mark. And that's what you want to do in any sport.

You have to respect America for respecting the pioneers of the game. That's important. We do that a lot in our game in England. What they've done for women's football across the world is massive.

I could speak for hours about equality and what needs to change in football and in society as a whole. But in the end, everything comes back to respect.

You need to go near to the people and actually sensitize them about the sport - specifically running. If athletes can go near their fans, many people would develop a love for running.

Let's face it: in advertising, you are paid more, but you die younger. It's not very forgiving. Like sports stars, you're in it during your better years, and then you're out looking for work.

Sports teaches you there is always a second innings in life. If you fail today, there's a second innings maybe two days later. Maybe there's another opportunity coming up three or six months later. If you look at mistake as learnings and commit never to make a same mistake again, then you actually get better with every mistake that you make.