There is one obvious reason why women play on the size of pitches and goals that we see now. That is what we were given. And maybe no one ever thought to question whether it makes sense.

But if you look at some other sports, someone must have decided one day that, actually, it would be daft to get women — average height in the UK 5ft 3in compared with 5ft 9in for men — to run over the same sprint hurdles in the Olympics. The women’s hurdles were made to be nine inches shorter, 33in compared with 42.

Sukanya Chor Charoenying, the Thailand goalkeeper, is 5ft 5in and was beaten 13 times CATHRIN MUELLER/GETTY IMAGES

In women’s basketball, women use a smaller ball. I’m no expert on that particular sport but I imagine someone felt that with smaller hands, and less