Family-friendly atmosphere offered by the women’s game allowed us both to feel a sense of wonderment

Rifling through my drawer of nostalgia at my parents’ house I found the ticket from 31 years ago to my first match. Football fandom is often based on harking back to simpler times that are rose-tinted as being better regardless of the reality. I am fully in favour of this mindset and it needs to be passed to the next generation.

Since inexplicably making a Manchester derby in 1993 the first in-person experience of a professional match, my relationship with the beautiful game has been complicated by my profession. Attending as a fan can seem hard to justify on a weekend when I spend a day away from my young family to work at Anfield, Molineux or Turf Moor. I am not sure whether I am stereotypical of the industry; there are plenty desperate to take in as many matches as possible for work or pleasure. I, however, require a degree of separation otherwise I would be at risk of hating what I love – although the same goes for my family.