Women's football in England is thriving to the extent where players no longer need to head overseas to fulfil their dreams, according to Kelly Smith.
England's record goalscorer went to America in her younger years as she aggressively pursued her chosen career as a professional, turning out for the likes of New Jersey and Philadelphia.
But the Arsenal striker, 37, believes the strength of the Women's Super League and the commitment to the sport from some of England's leading clubs means that players can now achieve their goals on home soil.
"There feels like there's a real ownership of the England team and women's football now," Smith - backing the FA People's Cup - told Press Association Sport.
"The big clubs have women's teams too and are pumping money into women's football.
"You can now grow up and aspire to play for an Arsenal or a Chelsea. When I was younger I wanted to be a professional footballer but I went to America as in this country it wasn't what it is now. Now I tell girls to stay in this country and we have people coming from all over to play in England."
The FA People's Cup is a five-a-side tournament taking place across the country, giving players of any gender and ability the chance to compete in their own road to Wembley, with FA Cup Final tickets given to the eventual winners.
Smith was pleased to see the amount of female sides to have entered on her travels around London, and believes the success of the England women's team at last summer's World Cup has been a key factor.
Mark Sampson's Lionesses captured the nation's attention as they made the semi-finals in Canada, the players becoming household names.
"There are so many female teams of all sorts of abilities, it's great to see," Smith added.
"Some of the players have never played and it's great to see the mix of experience and no experience coming together and having competitive fun.
"It's a great competition and coming off a World Cup it's great to see that there's been a real growth in female players and women wanting to play football.
"The World Cup really grabbed the nation and made lots of the players household names.
"It's now nice that you can come along and meet the younger ones, have photographs taken and the like. It's not always been that way in my career but the World Cup, especially since it was so accessible on the television, allowed the nation to fall in love with the Lionesses."
FA chairman Greg Dyke added: "Thirty-five-thousand people are playing this weekend, it's amazing. Really, it's all about encouraging people to play football - that's the idea.
"We've got kids, women, disability, even got walking football. The FA is making a big push on women's football and we hope to see a lot more women playing football over the next few years."
:: The FA People's Cup is a nationwide 5-a-side competition that is run in partnership with BBC Get Inspired. It was completely free to enter and welcomed male, female and disability players across 10 categories - ranging from U14s through to veterans (over-35s). The competition will take place over three rounds; Round One, Semi-finals and Final with winning teams across all categories each receiving Emirates FA Cup Final tickets for 21 May 2016. Round One takes place this weekend with hundreds of venues hosting 5-a-side football.
Source: PA
