In April, FIFA said ticket sales were "smashing records." The opening match in the Parc de Princes and the semifinals and finals at the Stade de Lyon were sold out within 48 hours of going on sale. Such is the focus on the tournament, it leaves former players wishing they could play again.

The controversial owner of a leading Romanian football team has said it is "against human nature" and "dangerous" for women to play football -- adding that he would quit the sport if he was ever forced to create a women's team."I'll quit football!" Becali -- who has been convicted of kidnap and once received an award for being the most homophobic person in Romania -- told the TV program "Ora exacta in sport." "You can't do things against God's will," he added.

For the first time in eight years, no women feature on Forbes' list of the world's 100 highest-earning sports stars. Since the magazine expanded its list in 2010, at least one female star has always made the cut. Tennis player Serena Williams was the sole female representative last year, coming in at 51st.

The fight for equality will never be an unbroken upward curve. There are ups and downs in any fight for long-lasting change. That is why, less than 12 months after playing the highest football match in history, a group of female footballers are to attempt another record-breaking feat -- to play football at the lowest point on earth.` Should they succeed, they will have broken world records for both the highest and lowest FIFA games in history within a year.

At the Norwegian Embassy in Britain's capital, Norway's men's and women's captains -- Stefan Johansen and Maren Mjelde -- and representatives of the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) and Norway's players' association (NISO) signed an agreement on equal pay in a deal thought to be the first of its kind in international football.