I am certainly not a fan of women's football, but I feel I must congratulate the England ladies team for almost reaching the World Cup final.

What shone out for me was the effort, commitment, belief and most of all, a smile on their faces, to overcome all odds and progress so far in the competition.

It has hopefully set an example to the male England team that have shown none of these qualities in major finals in recent years.

I read that the girls would receive £33,000 if they reached the final. Some of our male so-called stars would not get out of bed for such a pittance.

It was also good to see that we had five North-East girls in the squad, which proves again that North-East players come with fire in their bellies.

Well done ladies, I hope your efforts are recognised and rewarded.

Eric Schofield, Crook.