A lot of male football fans appear to be under the impression that the world should care what they think of AFLW.

They are wrong. It’s not about them.

Daisy Pearce in action in last year's AFLW state of origin game. Daniel Pockett

On Friday we were treated to another chorus of opinions after AFL veteran Mick Malthouse said he didn’t “like the present format of women’s football [because] it exposes them too much physically”.

The debate was triggered by news that AFLW forward Moana Hope had walked out of a lunch after Malthouse reportedly criticised women’s football.

So, predictably, as the story developed, we got to hear more from male fans and commentators about what they thought about the women’s game.

On Melbourne’s 3AW, radio presenter Tony Jones opened up his morning show asking listeners for their take.

“Footy is footy mate, it’s definitely a man’s game,” said Chris.

“If women want to play it, sure, let them have a women’s league like they do. I don’t like it, but let them have it.”

In the comment section of The Age, Max said he’d “tried” watching the AFLW but the “the skills are way inferior and women do not have the physical ability to kick the ball far enough”.

“It needs to be modified to accommodate women if you want to make it worth watching”.

Another person said they wished the AFLW would just be disappeared for five years until the skills got better.

“It’s just rubbish to watch,” they said.

But here is what I think.

As much as these commentators might struggle to understand it, the AFLW has not been designed for the enjoyment and pleasure of men.

It doesn’t matter that the women do not have the skills that are on a par with their highly-paid male counterparts. It doesn’t even matter that they may never quite get there.

That’s because the AFLW and women’s football in general is not necessarily for traditional male football fans. It’s for the girls growing up around Australia who now have heroes that look more like them and can now aspire to play at the highest level.

It’s about having Daisy Pearce on prime-time television, a gun footballer interviewing other gun footballers.

And it’s about truly beginning to open up the game to all – something these naysayers can never really understand, because they have never felt or been excluded.

Sadly, for a select group of mostly male supporters, the idea of women playing football seems to be a threat to the way they see the world, but there’s plenty of space in the game for everyone to be involved.

I think there is a legitimate discussion to be had among women players, officials and experts about how best to prevent injuries, especially at amateur levels during these early days.

I played a few games in a fantastic Victorian Amateur Football Association squad last year and found that I probably wasn’t skilled enough to properly protect myself (or do anything useful for that matter). I also worried there were a small minority of women that appeared attracted to the game because of the rough and tumble, putting themselves and others at risk.

But the decision I made to step onto the field was mine and telling women that they can’t play the sport because they are the physically weaker sex is completely patronising and wrong.

It is also a dilemma that the younger generations will have to worry less about, as they grow up learning the game. Leading the way today are thousands of current women players, at all ages and levels.

If you have ever been to an AFLW match, you would know why it’s so important to so many people. At my neighbourhood ground of Whitten Oval there’s always a bit of magic in the summer air on game night.

There are the players on the field smashing stereotypes about what footy should look like. Then there’s the young girls playing kick-to-kick in the stands, and fans wearing their team colours crowding around the race to clap the players as they head back to the rooms.

If you don’t like AFLW, that’s totally fine. There are plenty of men’s games you can watch.

Aisha Dow is an Age health reporter and failed amateur women's football player