JUST 10 years ago, football was still the preserve of men and boys, both on and off the pitch.

Yet there now seems to be a new generation of female footballing fanatics who are intent on kicking and tackling their own way to soccer stardom.

And at the recent Swindon Town girls' football festival the talent on show was evidence enough of the rise of girls' football.

The game is now played in primary schools across the borough and an increasing number of girls are taking up the sport in their spare time.

Although the football festival at Colebrook School earlier this month was all about fun and participation, there were girls there with one eye on the ball and another on winning.

Abby Picton, 10, is one of Swindon Town's rising stars. She practises three or four times a week and already has links with Southampton.

The youngster, who idolises James Beattie and lists Bend It Like Beckham as her favourite film, hopes to play as a professional in America one day.

The world-beating US team has perhaps become the benchmark for other women's teams and may explain why young girls in Swindon are dreaming of footballing glory Stateside.

But is the structure in place to enable her to achieve her long-term goal? And would it be possible for her to become a professional this side of the Atlantic?

Bev Maull, organiser of the Wiltshire County League, says the game in Swindon and beyond is expanding at an astonishingly fast rate.

"The opportunities open to girls and women today to develop as footballers are growing and growing," says Maul, who has been involved in women's football in Swindon since the 1970s. She played for Swindon Spitfires, one of the oldest women's and girls' football teams in the country.

"We still have a long, long way to go but the framework is being established. It's a different world compared to when I first started kicking a ball about 30 years ago."

Indeed, since the FA took women's football under its wing in 1993, great strides have been made and it is now the fastest growing sport in the country.

The last eight years have seen a ten-fold increase in the number of teams and there are now 4,500 women's football teams nationwide.

The FA have launched a women's football development centre to provide the best possible coaching and technical support for current and potential England internationals.

They are also committed to an ambitious development programme aimed at producing an England team capable of winning the World Cup in China in 2007.

Closer to home at the County Ground, Swindon Town Ladies have a stepping-stone system in place, whereby girls progress from the under 10 age group through to senior level if they wish, via the under 12s, the under 14s, and the under 16s.

Angie Fairlamb, coach of the under 10s, believes her youngsters have a bright future in the sport.

The fact that she has a 22-strong squad is perhaps indicative of its growing popularity.

"You just can't keep these girls away," says Angie. "Football is everywhere and it doesn't just appeal to men and boys it's there for the taking for women and girls too.

"Ten years ago, when some of these girls were only just born, women's football was about, but it was very low-key.

"But now it's on TV, it's in the papers, it's in magazines and that can only help the sport. Positive media coverage is important and with it, I think women's and girls' football will grow even more."