Big names back women's football

UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ kicks off on Sunday with hosts Finland, holders Germany, Denmark, England, France, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Ukraine all hoping for glory. Some of the biggest names in football shared their thoughts on the women's game ahead of the finals.

Ryan Giggs (Manchester United FC player)
It has improved and is getting better and better. It is massive in so many countries across the world and I think it is getting bigger and bigger in Britain as well. We are catching up with the likes of the USA, China and Germany, where it is massive. I think England and Britain are catching up with the rest of the world.

Jari Litmanen (Finland's most capped player)
I more or less co-founded Finnish women's football here in Finland. I was born in February 1971 and in '71 they founded the first league in Finland and I was my mother's team's mascot for three years. I can't say I remember a lot from that time but I do remember some things because I have seen photos and heard the stories. What I remember more or less from the 1980s was the football that I saw live before I left Finland and went abroad. It is more professional these days. Players have good skills and it is comparable to men's football in many ways. Women's football in the 70s and 80s was more of a hobby; girls and women didn't play or train a lot but now you can see they have done a lot of work for it.

Roy Hodgson (Fulham FC manager)
My feelings are positive. I think it is another fantastic development in the world of football. When I was at Malmö in the 80s, it was just beginning to get strong in Sweden and the top teams at that time were Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Now, it has become much more global. In 20 years we have seen an enormous difference in women's football. I think it is great that women play. I think it is great that we have these competitions and these competitions are often taken very seriously and the mass media do follow them.

Brede Hangeland (Fulham and Norway player)
It has grown a lot in the past few years, especially the interest in women's football. In my home country of Norway, we have a very good women's team and the interest has grown every year. The quality of the players and the teams has also improved, so that is a good thing. Football should be for everyone.