Brentford Women captain Mollie Holmes shares her story on International Women's Day.

I’ve started playing football when I was six in the garden with my cousin. Since then, I’ve never stopped playing and it’s been a constant in my life.

Together, my cousin and I joined our first local Sunday league team, Hampton Manor. I wore no.8 at the time which is what I wear now, so I’ve come full circle!

I was the only girl in the team at the time. It was a bit daunting, but as I had the safety blanket of my family and I knew some of the boys, I was very fortunate that it was easier to integrate into the team.

I later joined the Middlesex Academy of Excellence aged 11 and that was for girls. I was offered a contract on a yearly basis and I stayed there until I was 16. After taking a short break, when I was 17, I decided to join the Brentford women’s team. 

Seeing role models in football drove my passion as young girl. I’ve always admired Frank Lampard as a central midfielder. I also met Rachel Yankee when I was at Middlesex and it was positive to see a female footballer who had success in the game.

But even now, at 24, the Lionesses are my idols having seen them win the Euros. I hope to be a role model to young girls who want to play, just like they are to me.

Growing up, the teams I could join were limited, particularly in grassroots football and the Sunday leagues, compared to what they are now.

Even when I played for Middlesex, there weren’t a huge number of academies. From memory at the time, there were only around 30 academies for girls across the whole of the UK, which also meant you were limited to finding an academy where you live.

Now there are many more opportunities for girls and women who want to play football. It’s nice to see that they can start at a young age and follow the pathway the whole way. You don’t have to struggle to find a team. You can get involved, whether you’re young or older, or at different levels, whether that’s elite or you want to join in recreationally such as with the Trust’s sessions.

It’s also nice to get support from the men’s team. Even on a matchday, seeing ourselves on the screens is really encouraging as we feel recognised.

Playing for Brentford, we want to keep winning and we want those big opportunities such as playing at the Gtech.

We want to get to a higher standard, and hopefully we'll get more regular opportunities.

For women’s football, we want to reach a closer standard to men’s football.

The growth since the Euros has been astronomical. Now we need to keep building on that and not let that plateau.