´óÏó´«Ã½

The Uefa Women's European Championship 2022 is well underway.

Already the competition has had some incredible highs for England and promising signs of progress for Northern Ireland.

But it's not just the action on the pitch that matters, this Women's Euros also signals how far the women's game has come off it.

Women's football is the fastest growing female sport in the world.

There have been record attendances in the stadiums, record TV viewing figures, and the Euro's final at Wembley even sold out within an hour of going on sale.

There's no doubt that this summer is a big moment for the game. But what impact will this competition have on the women's game in the future? And, how important has it been to host the games in a UK nation?

We've been investigating the legacy of Euro 2022 on the future of women's football...

Former Olympic hockey player Sam Quek may have won an Olympic gold medal for her hockey skills but she is also a huge football fan!

In fact, Sam used to play both football and hockey when she was younger, and at the age of 16 she had to decide which one she wanted to continue professionally.

We asked Sam, whether if she had experienced the same opportunities girls have now, would she have taken up football instead?

"Possibly yeah... seeing stadiums full, definitely I would have thought I want a piece of that. There are more opportunities, chances to play against other girls teams and different girls team to join, so possibly but it didn't do me too wrong playing hockey because I got an Olympic gold medal out of it."

But, what impact will these Euros have on young girls watching the games?

Sam said: "I think it has a really good impact, if you're a young girl and you see these fantastic women and role models out there doing their thing, getting competitive, winning trophies, you want to be a part of that.

"Whether that's part of potentially one day being their team-mate or whether that's being in the stands to celebrate their success.

"Support it, play it, get involved, it's such a good thing to get involved in sport."

Sporting star Sam Quek also gave her advice for any children wanting to be a sportsperson when they're older...

"Always believe in yourself, there will be so many people along the way who don't rate you as a player or don't believe in you... it doesn't matter what you want to achieve, if you believe it and dream it and put 100% into - it will pay off."

But she also told Newsround that it's okay if you don't want to be a professional and you just want to play sports with your friends or for your local team: "That's brilliant as well, get out there and play because it's so much fun and such a good laugh as well."

Stacey Mullock is the FA's National Tournaments Legacy Manager, her job is to help grow the women's game in England and make sure this tournament leaves a legacy.

We spoke to her about the impact of hosting the tournament in England.

"It's a huge opportunity for the FA to promote the women's and girl's game in England. It's been growing at such a rate for the last few years.

"We know that boys football is really popular but even a few years ago it was really difficult for girls to have the chance to play.

"So if you're a young girl maybe seeing women's football on TV for the first time or maybe going to watch a match, there'll be an opportunity for you to try it out for the first time in your local community or local club."

Stacey also told us about the FA's plans to support women and girls football.

She said: "Our biggest programme is in schools, we have a big game changer ambition over the next few years which is to have equal access for girls to play football in school and in clubs.

"You'll know at school, boys are playing all the time in the playground, they might have afterschool clubs. Well a lot of schools across England have signed up to make sure girls have the same opportunities."

Finally, we asked Stacey what needs to happen to make the women's game equal to the men's game.

"We've had so many changes over the last few years, we've got a professional league now, so we have the Women's Super League, which you can see on TV when the season is on.

"Many years ago that didn't happen, women that wanted to play football had to be semi professional, so now there is a career path for girls if they want to take that route.

"There is lots of work going on in the background to promote football for women and girls across the country. All our county football associations are doing a huge amount work to provide those opportunities for girls to play.

"But hopefully the Euros... it's about raising the profile of the game, because if you can't see it, you cant believe it."

Have you been enjoying the Euros? Has watching the Euros made you love the women's game more? Are you inspired to play in the future?

Head to the comments to let us know!