England play host to the women's European Championship

England will play host to the women's European Championship over the next month with record crowds raising hopes the tournament will take the female game's rising profile to an even higher level.

Nearly half a million tickets have been sold to fans in 100 countries, including sell-outs for the opening game at Old Trafford when England face Austria on Wednesday and the final at Wembley on July 31.

Initially scheduled for 2021, UEFA moved the tournament back a year after the men's Euro 2020 had to be delayed 12 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As governing bodies scrambled to restart the men's competitions as soon as possible to secure lucrative broadcast income, even the elite end of the women's game was treated as somewhat of an afterthought.

But aided by a rare space in the men's football calendar due to the later start to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the stars of the European game on the women's side have the chance to take centre stage.

The five years since the last women's Euro, won by the Netherlands on home soil, have been transformative for the sport.

Money has flowed in from new sponsors, television rights deals and major clubs now prepared to spend big on improving the standards of their women's teams.

That investment is expected to be reflected at international level in the most competitive women's Euro to date, with half of the 16 teams regarded as realistic contenders.

"The top of the pyramid became a bit wider," UEFA's head of women's football Nadine Kessler told AFP.

"It's good that so many contenders, so many teams, have even declared ambitions publicly that they all want to go for it."

After losing three consecutive semi-finals, England have to handle the weight of expectation to win a first major tournament on