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As we get ready to reveal this year's winner of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Women's Footballer of the Year award, Sarah Mulkerrins explores the state of the women's game in 2016.

We look at the runaway success of the game in the United States after their team's World Cup triumph. We go to Nigeria to look at the problems faced by women footballers there. We examine the science and the statistics behind the game: can women play football just like men? Should they get the same pay? With massive television audiences from America to Australia and from Germany to Japan it looks like the women's sport is finally finding its place in the world. So is this a whole new ball game?

Photo: USA Women's football team celebrate winning the 2015 World Cup Credit: Getty Images