“Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. They could, for example, have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men – such as playing with a lighter ball.” FIFA President Sepp Blatter had said ten years ago and the world laughed at his gaffe.

But, it seems that now he has found an ally in the industry, Gemma Hughes, who is the founder of Lingerie Football League UK, a tournament where players running around wearing only their bras and knickers.

Hughes told the website Manchester Confidential: “I’m 23-years-old now and I don’t want to be waiting another 20 years to see women’s football make money from sponsorships.

“We know this is scandalous, we know it’s controversial, but that media attention is what’s going to sell tickets”.

“This is not about the players looking beautiful or sexy, it’s about women looking like women”.

“You only have to look at tennis – the women dress like women and they get same equal pay and similar amount of sponsorship as men.

On Wednesday 23 December, on the rooftop of Hotel Football, two women’s football teams will strip off and play a match for the sake of equality in the sport.