As my daughter plays - and is as skillfull as the boys she sometimes trains with, I should be more defensive about this - but, you know fair enough. Sometimes the level of games is poor, and you are more likely to see weird mistakes than you would in men's games. And the spectators do laugh - as do some of the player do, too - thank God.

You should come and watch the Latvian Cup Final between RFS and Dinamo Riga - my daughter will be on the bench and might get a game. You might be surprised by the skill, intelligence, and commitment you see. It's not at the level of the men's game, but that's not the fault of the players - they are doing the best they can.

Thankfully LV women's football isn't being politicized like it is in the US and Australia - that's embarrasing, for sure. The Rapino feminism/lesbian-power shtich turns my stomach. As if anyone, really, in the West has a big proble with lesbians. Of course, it never crossed Rapino's minds that her posturing will mean it is increasingly tough for girls in conservative countries to get to play the game - and it is a beautiful game, after all.