Media coverage & sponsorship scarce ahead of Women's World Cup

While France is set to host the Women's World Cup in June this year, women's soccer in the country still struggles to gain a fraction of the media attention – and sponsorship money – of the men's game. The first division women's teams are starting to pay some players full time salaries, but they're a long way from being a fully professional league.

This is Fleury 91's second season in France's women's first division – and the first time they've been able to pay most of their players a full time salary – or recruit professionals from abroad, like Daphne Couroz, who came here from Manchester City and has played in the U.S.

"In the U.S., women's soccer is huge and has a lot of resources put in, but the French league is a completely different system that you can't really compare to it.Yes, some of the clubs here aren't as professional, but we also have Lyon and PSG who are some of the best women's teams in the world," said Daphne Couroz, a Fleury 91 defender.

The problem for a small club like Fleury – and coach Nicolas Carric – is that they have to play teams like PSG, who are part of one of the richest men's football clubs on Earth.

"There's a huge difference between the first two or three clubs in the league, essentially PSG and the Olympique Lyonnais, who are spending about ten million euros a year on their women's team, and us, struggling with what we have. We've got the resources now to stay up in the first division, but taking on the Parisian ogre is difficult! " said Nicolas Carric, the Fleury 91 head coach.

Fleury are mostly funded by the team's owner, a local businessman. They make very little from sponsorships or ticket sales.

Only about five or six hundred people at most come to watch these players on Saturday, but they hope the women's World Cup will change that. Tickets for the final rounds are sold out, and the French Football Federation says that's already a victory.

The visibility of the sport is growing – all women's league games were televised for the first time this season. Celine Chatelain has balanced league soccer with a full time job for more than 10 years, but she's glad younger players increasingly don't have to.

"Professionalism has arrived quickly, and you see that's improved the results, even internationally. French teams are progressing because the girls are now able to train full time and not have jobs on the side, and that's brought up the level of the French national team as well," said Celine Chatelain, Fleury 91 midfielder.

The future at Fleury may depend on these players, France's national squad. If they can follow in the footsteps of France's men and lift the World Cup on home turf, they hope to kick into touch the idea that soccer's not for girls.

(CGTN)