The opportunities available for not just our leading sportswomen, but youngsters coming through, were the stuff of fantasy for earlier generations.

Teenage girls with an abundance of sporting talent are coming through at the ideal time to hopefully turn their passion into a career.

The news the Matildas will enjoy equal pay to the Socceroos in Football Federation Australia's new collective bargaining agreement is an indication the penny has dropped that female sport is by far and away the biggest growth area for any sport in this country.

A record crowd of more than 20,000 fans turned up to watch the Matildas play a friendly - that's right, a friendly - in Sydney last weekend.

Matildas superstar Sam Kerr has also signed a rich contract with English giants Chelsea which will reportedly earn her around $600,000 a year.

The avenues for girls to realise their dreams of playing at the top level now look far more achievable and less daunting than ever before.

AFL's Greater Western Sydney Giants have established academies in the Riverina at under-12 and under-14 level to give locals the best possible chance of honing their skills enough to be ready for when they're old enough to enter the draft.

The advent of the AFLW in recent years has already opened up a huge opportunity for Wagga teenager Ally Morphett, who has been selected in the 2020 NAB AFL Women's Academy.

She is, along with Griffith's Abby Favell, the first Riverina talents included in the academy. It gives her a chance to keep honing her skills under the guidance of top coaches for another two years, before she is eligible to enter the AFLW draft in 2021.

You can't be what you can't see. And female sport has never been more visible.

In a time where parents are finding it tougher and tougher to make their kids adopt active lifestyles, the chances of women making a living out of sport, which will only improve over time, could be a handy motivating factor.

Now girls have more female role models to aspire to, they can see firsthand what hard work can achieve. The financial rewards should only grow the more TV viewership increases.

READ MORE