And all of a sudden it is upon us. At 11 AM Irish time, the Republic of Ireland Women’s team will kick off their first ever major Championship Finals against the hosts Australia in from of 82,000 fans in Sydney.

As many as ten times that number, maybe more will down tools from work and summer camps, from the ordinary beat of an Irish summer to tune in from home and around the world.

This group and their manager are a special bunch and their story has been brilliantly told by media, by sponsors Sky, Cadbury and others, and by themselves.

I have had the privilege to host three on-stage conversations with Vera Pauw, including at last year’s Sport for Business Women in Sport Conference at the Aviva Stadium and earlier this year in the RDS at our Sporting Year Ahead event.

Everybody in either room was struck by her football and her emotional intelligence, by her warmth and her determination, and by her special bond with Ireland.

The inevitable line to be drawn is to Jack Charlton and the team at Italia 90, an Irish sporting moment like none that had gone before and one which brought a vivid sense of national identity to a country that had been in the economic doldrums.

We are a different nation now. Back then it was illegal to be gay. Tomorrow the team will be captained by a gay woman, and we don’t bat an eyelid.

Back then the Ladies Gaelic Football Association had only been in existence for 16 years and the idea of Women playing sport at anything other than a social level was the stuff of imagination for most.

Now we are in thrall to Katie McCabe and Amber Barrett, to Louise Quinn and to Abbie Larkin, only just turned 18. They are in the spotlight but they are in great company across so many other sports. We thrill to the exploits of Ellen Keane and Rhasidat Adeleke, Rachael Blackmore and Kellie Harrington, Vikki Wall and Katie Taylor.

Seeking a fair shout for Women in Sport has been at the heart of what we do at Sport for Business sine our inception 12 years ago.

This feels like a very special day along the road, though it is only that, a single step and we will not see it as an end but as a stepping stone towards true equlity, however long that takes.

For the players and for Vera Pauw it is a game. The work they have put into building a legacy that will see tens of thousands more young girls play the game can pause now as action takes over from words.

Now they need us to support and to encourage others to do the same.

It could be at the Sport Ireland Campus where a giant screen watch party will take place. It could be at Dalymount Park where a big screen will broadcast from the pitch to thousands in the stand. It could be in Sky’s premises across the country which are kitted out in flags and banners, it could be in the countless clubs that are opening their doors to watch together. It could be with your family or friends, it could be watching at home on your own.

It will be as one country, one base of support that will cheer and shout with all our might.

Come on You Girls in Green.