MENTION women’s football to some people and you should prepare for eyeball-rolling , shoulder-shrugging response.

This week has hardly been the best for the national sport with all the newspaper investigation revelations into alleged greed and corruption.

But there was one good news story to come out and it was provided by women.

Manchester City won their first national league title and the pictures of unbridled joy and interviews expressing dreams come true were in stark contrast to the miserable state the men’s game has been portrayed to be in this week.

One particular point of interest about the City ladies’ league triumph was that there were 4,000 spectators there to see it. That’s more than watched eight games in the men’s Football League last weekend.

And they saw football the way it should be played and organised. Good, honest football – how often can we say the same about the men’s game?

Of course it will be a long time if ever that the women’s game will compete on an equal football with the men’s for status, spectators and space in the newspapers.

That will only happen when people don’t feel the need to put the words “ladies” or “women” before “football”.

I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one if other traditionally male-dominated sports are anything to go by.

The sports where women are classed equally by the playing public don’t need anyone to tell them which sex is playing it.

You don’t say women’s tennis, women’s athletics or women’s swimming – sports which the press, public and paymasters regard the same whether men or women are involved. Indeed it’s the case with a great many Olympic sports.

It’s a bit strange that people feel the need to adopt a more differentialist approach to discussing other sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, and of course football.

It works both ways of course. If men played rounders or netball I’m sure the word “men’s” would be a standard adjective.

That’s a shame really because the very need to state which sex plays a sport is a sure sign that it’s not widely accepted that the other plays it.

And why shouldn’t both sexes enjoy sports traditionally played by the other?

Boys play rounders in the same team as girls at many primary schools, and they love it.

Girls were only allowed to play in mixed football teams up to the age of 13 up to a few years ago. Thankfully that has been extended to pretty much all age groups.

Football supporters continue to look down upon women’s football. It’s typical of the arrogance and closed-mindedness of the sport.

But if there’s any eye-rolling to be done about football this week it should be about the men’s game not the women’s.