It took Olympique Lyon half an hour to dash any hopes of an upset in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final as they eased past Barcelona to lift their fourth straight title, and sixth overall in Budapest on Saturday.

For the French side, who were making their eighth appearance in a Champions League final, these are unprecedented achievements in the prestigious UEFA club competition.

Lyon have raised the bar so high at the moment that it looks like that their European dominance won’t come to an end anytime soon.

One could argue that their superiority is actually pushing back other clubs from putting their hands in their pockets and invest into the women’s game.

However, Lyon’s success could also trigger teams across Europe to emulate their approach and start portraying the women’s game as another platform for success, not only on the pitch but also from a marketing and business point of view.

Since forming allies with the parent club in 2004, Lyon women’s team have been provided with the same opportunities like their male counterparts, forming a bond with the supporters while nurturing an unstoppable force.

The 2019 version of Lyon can bank on some of the best female players ever seen, including France national team captain Wendie Renard, Germany skipper Dzenifer Marozsan and Ada Hegerberg, winner of the first ever FIFA Ballon D’Or last year.

Hegerberg, 23, scored a hat-trick against Barcelona and has already 44 goals in this competition – just seven behind all-time leading scorer Anja Mittag, who has announced her retirement from the game this month.

Marozsan, on her part, had the world at her feet in the final as the Budapest-born player was gracing the field of her hometown and with the stadium shouting her name each time she was on the ball, they propelled her to open the score and put up a commanding showing.

“It was an amazing night for me – I enjoyed playing every minute with the stadium backing me from the warm-up until the end,” Marozsan told the Times of Malta.

“They left me speechless, but also helped us to have a special first half where I scored and we virtually made sure of the win.”

This year’s final, with the highly-anticipated Women’s World Cup just around the corner, fitted nicely with the growth of the movement.

The final in Budapest was the tenth under the banner of UEFA but the first to be held in a different venue from the men’s, meaning that the women’s game “does not need” the men’s competition to attract the attention.

Moreover, despite their 4-1 loss, this final also highlighted the progress of new contenders Barcelona who became the first Spanish side to ever play in a European final.

The women’s game in Spain has come a long way over the years.

To put it into context, 29-year old Marta Torrejon, right-back at Barcelona and the most capped player for Spain, appeared for her national team a decade ago when they faced Malta in a 2011 World Cup qualifier.

At that time, Barcelona were yet to win a single championship and in the next 10 years, their investment paid dividends having won all domestic silverware and played their first European final.

Ahead of the Champions League final, UEFA launched for the first time in its history a women’s football strategy.

The plan sees the European governing body of football committing itself to a five-year plan in the interest of supporting the women’s game.

Five-year plan

With five goals to reach by 2024, women players could be heading into an exciting chapter in the history of the women’s game.

UEFA is aiming to double the number of female players in its member associations to 2.5 million while putting its efforts in helping to change the perception of the game across European societies.

Moreover, through the Women’s European Championship and the Women’s Champions League, UEFA will be aiming to double the reach and value.

Maybe the most important strategies will be, however, those of improving the players’ standards and adopting safeguarding policies as well as doubling female representation on all UEFA bodies.

We hope that such changes will have a positive influence on the Maltese game as champions Birkirkara will soon start their European journey in August’s qualifying group as the road to the Vienna 2020 final kicks off.