Women’s football is at an all-time high at the moment in light of the Women’s World Cup, with 11.7 million people tuning in to watch BBC One coverage of the final between the USA and Netherlands on Sunday.

It is hoped that the buzz around the Lionesses’ World Cup exploits will help to grow both interest in women’s professional football and participation at grassroots level.

The early signs in the Duchy are positive, after the excellent news that the Cornwall Women’s Football League has increased its membership ahead of the new season.

The league is set to grow to a total of 17 teams, a four-team increase on last season.

With membership ranging from Mousehole to Callington and most places in between, you will likely find one of those teams either on your doorstep, or certainly within a short distance, regardless of where you live in Cornwall.

Our core Falmouth-Helston area is home to four of those 17 clubs; namely Helston Athletic, RNAS Culdrose and FXU in Division 1, plus Penryn in Division 2.

Games in the league are almost always played on Sundays, so if you play for or follow a Saturday side, you can now enjoy two games of live, local football in one weekend.

Local teams are frequently on the lookout for players, so if you, or your daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend, want to give football a go, then I’m sure the clubs will welcome you with open arms.

If you’re not into playing (or if you’re not a woman!) and are not able to get to games either, then look out for our new weekly round-ups of the action, as well as dedicated coverage of some featured matches on our website.

It is a Helston CC clean sweep for my weekly awards. The first team wins the team award for their nine-wicket win over Gorran, while Steve Jenkin takes the player award for his four wickets while conceding just seven runs.