Standing just 5ft 3in, Sarah Hough's knees were shaking. The Scotland captain was facing the final game of a tournament after a run of straight defeats, and in this closing match they were to meet England, who had demolished every team in their path. She took deep breaths, clapped her hands furiously to get the other girls going, and turned to look at her opponent.

''I was standing there, with my hair done perfectly, and all I could see was this big, butch English lassie practically growling at me. I thought, they're probably going to beat us but we'll give them a good run for their money.'' In perfect Rachel of the Rovers fashion, the Scottish women's under-17 squad went on to beat England 5-3 - a day that Hough says was the best since she first kicked a ball.

Even at 17, that's a lot longer than you might expect. The U17 captain is also vice-captain of the U19 national squad. She started playing at primary school, where she struggled to be accepted as an only girl among the boys; but at the age of 11, she joined Kilmarnock LFC.

She's one of a growing band of young women who are sacrificing social lives to play a game they love. During the season, she returns home from St Andrews Academy in Ardrossan, grabs a quick bite, goes to a part-time job in a local nursing home, and then she's off to training.

She's far from alone. Women's football is recognised as one of the world's fastest-growing sports, so why is it still a mystery to the sports pages and programmes? Maureen McGonigle, administrator of the Scottish Women's Football Association, hopes that measures put into place for the coming season will change that. The new Scottish Women's Premier League kicks off on Sunday, and McGonigle is hopeful that by highlighting the country's top-12 women's teams, those who can help the game progress may, at last, sit up and notice.

''It's incredibly frustrating. We can show the numbers playing, we can show the increase, but the decision-makers where sports media and sponsorship are considered are still predominantly male and a lot of them haven't been switched on to what's happening.

''For example, the Scottish Schools FA, who run the Coca-Cola Sevens, reported a 68% increase in girls teams this year. All these things are great, but they still don't get us anywhere where the sports media or sponsorship is concerned.'' The women's national side is now in the European top-20, with Kilmarnock LFC the Scottish representative in the forthcoming Uefa Women's Cup.

That's something McGonigle puts down to the hard work of the volunteers who have run the country's 42 women's teams in the Scottish Women's Football League.

''Previously all the teams played in the SWFL. The volunteers ran the teams and we did the communication. Creating the Premier League meant creating an identity for the top-12 and looking at their special requirements. They make up the bulk of the international side, for example, so we could change the fixtures to suit.

''It has created a bit of interest already with some major tabloids agreeing to carry results. We're also hoping for some good news regarding sponsorship.'' The remaining 30 teams will carry on in the SWFL as before, and although McGonigle hints that they might not be too happy at the treatment being given to the top-12, she is certain that any

benefits will filter down.

The league is also about trying to keep the best players here. Ayr United LFC's star player, Julie Fleeting, is now playing for San Diego Spirit and others have been tempted throughout Europe, including to England for Arsenal Ladies and Doncaster Belles.

The English FA is currently working on establishing a women's professional league to begin season 2003/04. It would be the first of its kind outside the US. That association also includes its women's association when negotiating television rights, something that McGonigle believes should be considered here.

Football scholarships have also attracted Scottish players to US colleges, but Sarah Hough is certain that she wouldn't be attracted.

''I don't know. I think I would miss my family too much. I'm hoping to do a sport in the community course at Strathclyde University and work for the SFA. That would mean the travel associated with playing would be so much easier.'' Since the age of 12, Hough has been travelling the world with her club and national squad. Before the end of this year, she will be in Finland, Austria, the US, and perhaps Russia. Luckily, her parents and school are encouraging her ambitions.

Her contemporaries across the Atlantic have the law on their side, however.

McGonigle applauds the 30-year old Title IX legislation, put in place to ensure there is gender equality in relation to sporting scholarship, as well as other educational opportunities.

That, coupled with the fact that football is not America's first sport, means that the women's team are superstars where the men are, well, the equivalent of our women's

team here; World Cup quarter-

finalists or not.

''Title IX was a bold step to take, but it really paid off. A Scottish girl now playing in the US was telling me that before the World Cup, the men's national squad was making a public appearance. The promotion said 'come and meet the American men's soccer team'. Around 60 people turned up. The next week, the promotion was to meet the American soccer team, which is, of course, the women. The place was absolutely mobbed.''

McGonigle has created her own bit of history as the first female member on the SFA Council. That shows the strides she has taken in 10 years in the job. She is thankful for the hard work being done at grass-roots level, including schools and regional development officers.

The network of development officers includes Sophie Hearn, a 28-year-old Canadian who now plays for Hibs LFC and is girls' football development officer for Dundee (the whole of Tayside from next month). A beneficiary of the Title IX legislation, Hearn attended a college in the US on a football scholarship. Now, with a Scottish husband, and working in an area with one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Britain, Hearn sees so many benefits for girls who choose to come along and play, no matter what the attraction is.

The glamour of football where David Beckham is as much a pin-up as Robbie Williams is obviously a draw to teenage girls, but once they get the boots on, Hearns sees a change in them. ''I think it gives girls self-confidence, being part of a group, being accepted. There is such a high incidence of teen pregnancies here that sport can maybe show them that there is more to life than boys. Life doesn't stop as soon as they have a boyfriend.'' Sarah Hough has set all thoughts of romance to the side at the moment, but sees her friends become frustrated when she can't join them midweek because of training, or on a Saturday night because she's playing the next day.

''They do go on at me a bit, but they always come and see me play.'' Sarah says the closest she gets to boys is during training matches with the Scotland side, where they will play girls against boys to try and ''toughen them up a bit''.

At an age when most girls are worrying about little except clothes and make-up, she has taken her responsibilities seriously. The captain's armband means that if anyone gets into trouble, Sarah gets it in the neck. That's why she is such an example of good behaviour - off the field anyway.

On the field, the left-winger shows that girls and boys can have their differences, but some things remain the same. ''During that England game, I scored. I couldn't believe it. I ran up the wing, did a wee one-two with the keeper and suddenly, it was in. England had been so arrogant, saying that we would never beat them. We were 3-0 up at that point so I couldn't help myself . . . I gave their fans a cheeky wee wave, slid on my knees, and kissed my badge. Just magic.''

league of their own

l The teams which make up

the first Scottish Women's Premier League are: Ayr

United LFC, Cove Rangers

LFC, Dundee LFC, Glasgow

City LFC, Giuliano's LFC, Hibernian LFC, FCL Hamilton, Inver-Ross LFC, Kilmarnock LFC, Lossiemouth LFC, Raith Rovers LFC, Shettleston LAFC.