Women's football could surpass the men's game, according to Jean-Michel Aulas.
Former Lyon president Aulas has been a major backer of women's football, with the French club having one of the most successful club sides in the female game.
During Aulas' time as president, Lyon's women's team have won a record 16 Division 1 Feminine titles and a record eight Women's Champions League crowns.
Speaking to Stats Perform at the inaugural European Club Association (ECA) Women's Football Summit in London, Aulas was bullish about the future of the women's game.
"In any case, whether you like it or not, it's inevitable. Tomorrow, women's soccer will be the equal of men's soccer, and maybe even better," he said.
"And it's an absolutely fantastic growth driver. You can see it when people try and I have this responsibility at the French Football Federation, to create a women's soccer that is overpowering.
"We don't want to let ourselves be overtaken by the English league or other leagues.
"So we're trying to create a dynamic and a self-generating model not only of belief, but also of economic results that will enable us to continue investing."
Aulas believes women's football is already more entertaining than men's.
"It's not marketing, it's not, it's concrete," he said when asked about athletic differences between the genders.
"It's that the effective playing time of women's soccer is far greater than the effective playing time of men's soccer. Why is that? Because we're not looking to gain time. We're not trying to betray the referee.
"And these figures show that, in athletic terms, there will soon be no difference. And then, in terms of state of mind, it's all in favour of women's soccer."
The 2023 Women's World Cup is set to be another huge driver in attracting a wider audience, and Aulas believes there are four clear favourites to succeed in Australia and New Zealand.
He explained: "I'm actually a double player in this World Cup since I'm responsible in France for leading the French team delegation. On a general level, I think that this World Cup will reflect what has already been the case in France, i.e. a very significant development in terms of spectators and television viewers.
"The competition is going to be even more competitive because the number of teams that can win and play a role today has increased.
"And then for the French team, of course, to try to go a little further than we have done in recent competitions with a new coach, Herve Renard, and also with a team that will be keen to reach the final rounds, to try to defend the image of France which, in the boys' game so far, has been very successful.
"For me, I see four teams who are perhaps the best of the lot. The United States, as always, obviously. And of course England, who have just won the European Cup with a lot of certainty and a lot of ambition.
"I can also see Brazil, who have some excellent players and are trying, as with the boys, to bring a highly technical style of women's soccer to the table. And then there's France.
"I see these four teams in the top places. There are always surprises, so it's simply a prediction."
Aulas also emphasised that the ECA presidents are firmly in favour of growing the women's game.
"The club presidents of the ECA, who are among the greatest club presidents of all European clubs, believe strongly in it," he said.
"So they're going to keep investing. And since we're in London, we can also see Chelsea investing heavily with American shareholders.
"That's what's going to enable us to strengthen women's soccer by developing the rules and bringing them closer together."
Carsley hopes 'young' England will benefit incoming boss Tuchel
England interim manager Lee Carsley said the widened pool of young players available for selection will help incoming boss Thomas Tuchel.
Carsley was handed the reins to the national team temporarily following Gareth Southgate's departure and has given opportunities to young players during his short spell, which will end with the Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.
The 50-year-old has handed debuts to six players - Morgan Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes, Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall, Morgan Rogers and Curtis Jones - during his five-match reign.
"The challenge [for the young players] is to stay there now. It's a tough squad to get into, and they've put themselves in the picture," the outgoing coach said.
"It's good for Thomas [Tuchel, who takes charge on January 1] that the pool has increased.
"I've seen them up close. I know what they're capable of, and they've got the mentality to compete. There are so many quality players, the competition is extreme, and they've got to stay in the race."
Carsley came under pressure after the Three Lions lost 2-1 to Greece at Wembley in October, but a 3-0 win in the return fixture on Thursday has put them in a strong position in their Nations League group.
Chelsea 2-0 Manchester City: Bompastor's side go top of WSL with late show
Chelsea left it late, scoring twice in four minutes, to secure a 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Women's Super League to leapfrog them to the top of the table.
Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten got the all-important goals, condemning City to their first league defeat of the campaign.
The visitors, who were without the injured Lauren Hemp, arguably should have taken the lead in the first half when Khadija Shaw latched onto Sandy Baltimore's wayward backpass, but the forward could only drag it wide of the far post.
In a tight game, Chelsea stayed calm, though Ramirez wasted a chance to square it into the box to give a team-mate an easy tap-in early in the second half.
The Colombian did not make the same mistake a second time. On a quick counter-attack, she brushed Alanna Kennedy aside to reach Maika Hamano's throughball before weaving away from Alex Greenwood to drive it into the bottom-right corner in the 75th minute.
Just four minutes later, they doubled their lead. Reiten was left in acres of space on the right of the box and curled a delightful finish out of Ayaka Yamashita's reach.
Chelsea maintained their perfect record under Sonia Bompastor, making it 10 wins from 10, and moved two points clear of City at the top of the WSL, still with a game in hand over their title rivals.
Data Debrief: Battling to the end
Even so early in the season, there was a lot riding on this in regards to the title race, and City have seemingly blinked first.
They looked far from their usual best, possibly in part due to Hemp's absence, as they struggled to create many meaningful chances.
Chelsea were also guilty of being wasteful early on but looked the more likely to score, managing 15 shots compared to City's eight while also edging the expected goals (xG) count (0.85 to 0.56).
Bompastor also became the first-ever manager to win each of their first seven games in the WSL.
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
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