While Carrow Road may be a place of discontent this season things couldn’t be more different at The Nest.

Norwich City Women are the only unbeaten team in the league, a stat which sees them sitting second and keeping their eyes firmly on promotion. Their run in the FA Cup has also drawn attention, with Alice Parker front and centre in the sponsor’s promotional material for this weekend’s round of fixtures.

The cup challenge began in October with a convincing win against familiar opponents London Seaward, setting the Canaries up for a tie against third tier opposition Hashtag United. The higher placed team were quickly dispatched, only for Norwich to exit the competition in the second round with a loss against Boldmere St Michaels on Sunday, victims of a 96th minute concession.

Norwich Women’s’ upwards trajectory is part of a national trend for women’s and girls’ football. England’s victory at Euro 2022 and the rise of campaign groups such as Her Game Too have helped to push the cause to the front of the national consciousness. I see this in my professional life, where I help coach a girls’ team.

When they started in September many of the girls were completely new to football; some had never kicked a ball before, let alone played in a competitive match. The one common trait was how desperate they all were to play, how committed they were to the sport and to each other. A few weeks ago we took them to a football tournament to play against teams whose players attend academies, who have been scouted by clubs, who are on development pathways.

They came second. Their pride at their performance, shown in the moment where we returned to school and they flooded out of the minibus clutching their medals, was second only to how proud we were of them. In that moment it struck me how different things are for them to how it was when I was their age, how glad I am that they have these opportunities and that I can help provide them.

When I was at primary school in the 2000s we didn’t play football in our PE lessons. At secondary school PE lessons were segregated by gender – we watched the boys play football while we played hockey and netball.

In my mind it’s that context which makes the achievements of NCWFC all the more laudable. Many members of the team were at school at the same time as me, attending similar rural Norfolk schools and battling an ethos that implied girls didn’t want to play football. They sought opportunities in their own time. They played in teams full of boys. They found a passion and followed it, and are now reaping the rewards.

The ”you’re inspiring a whole generation of girls” messages that are put to women footballers are somewhat misleading: they’re inspiring to everyone.

Last season, when Norwich played Mulbarton Wanderers at Carrow Road, as a school we took over 30 children and their parents to the game. When I told the children about the trip there were no comments about the team being women.

There was just overwhelming excitement that they were going to see Norwich play, at Carrow Road, to potentially win a trophy; and they loved it.

I was sat behind a group of boys who spent the whole match cheering, chanting, calling for waves from the substitutes. Some of the younger children made banners and flags. As soon as the final whistle went they raced to the front of the stand, clutching their tickets, desperate for autographs from the players.

Six months later a number of those children were walking into school with medals around their necks. The importance of this visibility can’t be understated. Although the FA Cup run may be over, the inspiration and goodwill being generated by this team are far from it.