The men’s World Cup has come to an end and for me the tournament was a success. Questions had been asked about what kind of a tournament Russia would deliver and although I was not able to travel there, it seems to have been very well organised and almost all the comments about it have been positive.

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This is important for the sport, because the biggest event of them all needs to be an example in all aspects and I believe this tournament was.

And the good news is that we don’t have to wait another four years until there is another World Cup because next summer, in France, the women’s version takes place. Brazil have qualified and I am already excited about the prospect of playing against the best players and teams from all over the world.

I am sure next summer’s tournament, just like the one in Russia, will be very well organised. I fully expect there to be a lot of great games, a lot of supporters attending the games and, of course, more media coverage – from TV, online and print – than ever before. Our sport is growing and this is our chance to show that women’s football is also exciting and attractive.

The tournament in France will be my fifth World Cup and if I had to pick one where the fans and atmosphere has been the best, I would say 2007 in China. I think my favourite moment comes from that tournament too, when we beat the United States and reached the final. Results-wise that was our best World Cup.

Women’s football has made enormous strides in the past decades and I am confident that will continue. There is always a battle to get more coverage on TV, in newspapers and on websites – so it is up to the players to do what we can to help improve that, which is to play the best we can, do our job with love and affection and continually show to people that women’s football is attractive and engaging and, above all, a beautiful game.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest USA thrashed Japan 5-2 in the 2015 Women’s World Cup final, with Carli Lloyd scoring a hat-trick. Photograph: Rich Lam/Getty Images

We also need to have people who genuinely want to improve the sport to get involved. Sometimes there are individuals who are looking for a short-term financial return on their investment rather than being prepared to wait patiently for a return. We need people who see the bigger picture to get engaged.

I believe that women’s football has developed a lot since I started out and that is mainly down to the players and their quality. There is better competition now with more and more teams better prepared than ever. That helps, too.

Day by day, women’s football is getting stronger, more interesting and more beautiful. There are more and more teams, more and more leagues and, I find, less prejudice and discrimination.

Fifa is helping to promote football but, as in all walks of life, there is room to do more, to improve. Women’s football could be promoted better, for example. Fifa is the biggest operator in world football and it is able to influence a lot of people with everything it does. I think that these days young girls who are growing up believe that they can have a career in football as much as the boys do, that they can have that possibility.

They will know that it will be hard to achieve the financial success that the male players have but at least nowadays it is easier to find clubs and schools who take women’s football seriously. It is more acceptable than ever for girls to play football. I also think that the current generation of female footballers are great role models when it comes to promoting the sport, to make girls dream that they too can make it.

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If I were in charge of promoting women’s football around the world I would publicise all the good aspects of the sport even more and I would start more football teams in schools and communities. I would also do what I have been doing since my childhood, which is to show that women look after the ball just as well as the men do.

I would work hard to ensure that women’s football got even more coverage because without that promotion there is no way for people to realise the quality of what we do, to show that women’s football exists and that it is very interesting.

I have loved writing for the Guardian and the Observer during Russia 2018. It has made me feel very close to the tournament despite the fact that I have had matches and training sessions with my club side, Orlando Pride, here in the United States. It was an incredible experience. Thank you for having me.