Powell set for Games lift-off

Hope Powell said she hoped to transform the status of women's football in Britain, after announcing her Great Britain squad for the Olympics yesterday.

Powell's team will play group games at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and Wembley and the coach wants the impact of the Games to exceed that of Beijing four years ago.

"It's massive, I really can't express it," Powell said. "I went to Beijing and saw what that Olympics did for football and women's football in particular. I think the fact that it is on home soil will raise awareness and put us in the spotlight.

"The attention around it will be unprecedented. I hope it will give us a platform to inject interest and get more girls into the game. They will be the players of the future."