Shelley Kerr’s depiction of a “watershed moment” for women’s football in Scotland does not remotely feel like exaggeration. A crowd in the region of 25,000 is expected at Hampden Park on Tuesday night for a friendly with Jamaica which also serves as a send-off before the World Cup. Context is applied by a record attendance of 4,098 for a Scottish women’s home fixture.

“We have always set ourselves a target of inspiring the nation,” said Kerr, the Scotland manager. “It is fitting that this game is being played at Hampden. This will show how the women’s game has grown in Scotland. But it will also be a huge credit to the players, showing how inspiring they’ve been throughout the campaign. The very fact that they’re going to the World Cup says something.

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“Being honest, it will be emotional for me tomorrow night if we do get that big crowd, over 10,000. I will have that wry smile and whatever happens in the future, I will be one happy coach.”

Kerr claims to be unaware as to whether the excitement around her team is enhanced by the fact Scotland’s men have not reached a major finals since 1998. Still, it was notable that Steve Clarke, on his appointment as the Scotland men’s manager last week, vowed to emulate Kerr’s achievement.

“This is on merit,” Kerr said. “We’ve captivated a nation by going to the World Cup. And we haven’t done that by default. We’re not going to the World Cup because we won a play-off; we actually qualified top of the group and did it on merit after an excellent campaign.

“At my interview for this job, I said we need to change the perception of our team – and the only way we can do that is by having a product that’s viable, having success. That was always our intention. So all of this is on merit, based on what we’ve done on the pitch.”

It remains slightly unclear whether all the revenue generated by the Scotland team’s qualification will be invested in the women’s game. The Scottish Football Association is known to have financial challenges, partly linked to that recurring failure of its men’s side.

“Ultimately it’s all about the players; how can we make sure they are in the best place possible going into the World Cup?” Kerr said. “We have been really supported in terms of the buildup.

“The aftermath is so important for us. If I’m looking at growing the women’s game in Scotland, we can’t afford for this to be an isolated case. If we want to qualify for other tournaments and have that success on a regular basis we have to look at growing the game and putting resource into the youth side of the game. Otherwise this might be a one-off and that’s what we don’t want to happen. We need to reinvest in the women’s game generally.”

There will be a nod to history before Scotland take on Jamaica, with surviving players from the country’s first women’s international – in 1972 against England – finally being presented with caps to mark the occasion. Until the Scottish FA took responsibility for the women’s international team, in 1998, no caps were issued.

“It is important,” said Kerr. “I’m the only person connected to the national team, because of my age, who remembers that era. Anyone involved in the national team, they should know the history and know who came before them. Players who have given so much of their lives to football in Scotland, we should recognise them more.

“I don’t think people realise just how difficult it was, back then, to be involved in the women’s game. You had so many barriers. There are so many stories. Every single player from that era has a story to tell – not all positive. But one thing is guaranteed: all of those players have character in abundance. They built up resilience through facing so many challenges.”