Sue Smith is a pioneer of the women's game in England.
She made her England debut aged 17 and in 2009, Smith was in the first group of women's players to be offered central contracts by The Football Association.
Her glittering career spanned 94 England caps, spells with Tranmere Rovers, Leeds United, Lincoln Ladies and Doncaster Rovers Belles as well as two FA International Player of the Year awards.
Smith is a passionate advocate for women's football and recently she visited the University of Hull to offer her support to participants playing in the first of 10 regional qualifiers for this year's Premier League Primary Stars National Girls Football Tournament.
Nine teams from across the north of England took part, with schools representing Hull City and Huddersfield Town making it through to the National Finals which this year will take place at Molineux Stadium, the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
And as we mark this year's International Women's Day on 8 March, Smith talks about the role Premier League programmes are playing in providing opportunities for girls to play the game.
"I just love seeing young girls playing and enjoying football. When I was growing up, I played for a local boys team because there weren't any girls teams around, I didn't have these opportunities.
"I didn't play for a girls team until I joined Tranmere when I was 14. So it's great to watch these girls tournaments like the one in Hull, where they can they then progress and go to a final at Molineux.
"It's unreal to find out about the number of girls that have taken part in this tournament. The performance levels and the enthusiasm is absolutely brilliant to see. It's going to help women's football in the future.
"It was great talking to the girls. They were asking me about my career, when I joined the boys team and if the boys passed to me. They were saying, 'there are times when we play and the boys don't pass to us.' Now they play together in the girls team and they do get passed to.
"There was real potential out there. Some of the players, if they want to make it, if they work hard and do all the right things, there's no reason why they can't be playing in the Women's Super League.
"When the girls see the Premier League Trophy here it adds to the whole experience. Having the Premier League involved in these things is huge. They're here to help the women's game develop and grow.
"They do care, they are paying attention and they do want to help grow the game. It's a massive confidence boost for the girls, it will inspire them.
"The landscape has massively changed for women's football and tournaments such as this help that. When you talk now to young girls, their favorite players are not just male footballers, it's female footballers as well.
"These girls want to be the next Millie Bright or Beth Mead. It's such a positive thing. And to have the Premier League here makes it more real and more professional. It's been a great day for all of them. There's real hope for the future."
About Premier League Primary Stars
Premier League Primary Stars is the Premier League's primary school education programme. It is available to every primary school in England and Wales, with over 19,000 schools engaged with the programme. More than 1.3million school sessions and events have already been delivered.
Funded by the Premier League, through the Premier League Charitable Fund, the programme has enabled over 70,000 teachers to use resources for English, PSHE, PE and Maths, to help children to be active and develop essential life skills. There are 650+ free resources available.
To find out more about delivering the programme in your school, please visit plprimarystars.com.
