COLLECTIVELY as a nation, I feel our level of expectation has dropped dramatically during lockdown, as most of us wanted little more than the chance to meet up with family and friends.

Also perhaps the opportunity to play a little sport and, of course, be able to watch some good-quality sport on the box, rather than endless repeats.

We are getting a little nearer to this day as just last week we were rewarded with some changes to our lockdown which now allows us to meet up, albeit with restrictions, and these changes also include permitting some forms of sport as well.

There is more good news, particularly for those of us who are football fans, as Uefa has just released the re-arranged dates for the women’s 2020 Euros qualifying games that had to be re-scheduled due to the pandemic.

The first double-header is scheduled for September, with Cyprus v Scotland on September 18 followed by Scotland v Portugal on September 22. However, my fear is this bold move by Uefa may not be as easy to make happen, as we are all aware that different countries are at different stages in their exit from lockdown.

Match fitness for the squad my also be an issue as a lot of players aren’t home-based and their domestic leagues will kick off at different times. But with the chance to get their first two games under their belts and six points on the table, I don’t think motivation will be a problem.

If you can’t wait till September for your football fix, BBC Alba has started bringing live coverage of the German women’s Bundesliga to our screens. This is one of the strongest female leagues in the world and we have had a few Scottish players grace their pitches over the years, including Lisa Evans, who is now at Arsenal, and Sophie Howard, currently at Reading.

So while we patiently wait for our home-grown game to kickstart, we at least have a good substitute.