Lyon’s Christiane Endler is the best female goalkeeper in the world, at least according to Fifa’s The Best award. She may lose that title next week, when the awards show for 2022 takes place, but has a chance to retain it having been included on the shortlist for a fourth consecutive year. Now that’s consistency. “I hope to win it again and I am really happy to be here again,” says Endler. “It means we are at a good level.” After moving to Lyon from PSG in the summer of 2021, the Chile international won the French league and the Champions League in her first season with the club. Now she hopes to become the first person to win the best goalkeeper award in back-to-back years – but the challengers are strong: Manchester United’s Mary Earps, who won the Euros with England last summer, and Chelsea’s Ann-Katrin Berger, who won the Women’s Super League and FA Cup in 2021-22. Endler and Berger, in fact, will soon face each other on the pitch, with Lyon and Chelsea drawn against each other in the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals, with the first leg on 22 March. “Berger and Earps have both had very good seasons overall,” says Endler. “I think they’re very worthy competitors and it is a difficult choice. But for me just being there and representing Latin American women is the most important thing.” There was disappointment this week as Chile failed to qualify for the World Cup and Endler is well aware of the difficulty South American women’s football faces against some of the strongest teams and leagues in the world, such as the United States and many European countries. For her, the key to levelling the game is to prioritise younger generations – a lesson she has learned at Lyon. “The girls [coming through now] need to have the same training as boys from the start so that the women’s game becomes more attractive for brands and generates more revenue,” she says. While she is used to playing for one of the best teams in the world at the club level, the situation is quite different back home. There has been progress – the Chilean government passed a law this year ensuring women’s football has professional status – but there is still a lot to be done. The 31-year-old is one of the founders of the National Association of Women’s Football Players’ (Anjuff), which is fighting to improve conditions for players in Chile. The union helped the national team return to the Fifa rankings after years of turbulence. “I think the biggest impact with [Anjuff] is to have someone who represents your values as a player, who will fight for you. It is not easy for players to fight for themselves,” she says. “Now it’s up to the clubs to respect the working conditions for the players. I believe it’s a great step forward and we hope that it is the start of something big in Chilean football.” Endler spent most of her early years as a footballer in her home country. She had a short spell with Chelsea nearly 10 years ago and also played in the US and Spain before moving to France. She spent four seasons with Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Lyon. There is a winning mentality at Lyon – and Endler fits right in at a club that have won eight Champions League titles. “I don’t think there can be favourites against us, a team that has won so much,” she says as the season is coming to its business end. In last year’s Champions League final Lyon beat Barcelona 3-1, a sweet result as the Catalan side were considered favourites by many. “I think it was one of the best finals ever,” Endler says. “It was so close, with beautiful goals. It was unforgettable. What motivates me the most, and it did especially in that game, was that we always knew we would have a great game, fight and probably win. The group was really focused on what we needed to do.” As somrone playing in Europe and fighting for the women’s game in South America, Endler says she would like to see a game between clubs from the two continents. It is not as far-fetched as it once was, with Fifa talking of a plan to create a Women’s World Club Cup. She thinks Brazil’s Corinthians could be a good match, as they have won three Libertadores and four national championships in the past six years. “It would be great to play a Brazilian team. I’ve seen [Corinthians] play a lot in the Libertadores and both they and Lyon have great players,” she says. Just as Lyon have a winning mentality, Endler keeps looking for new trophies to lift. Recommended viewing Bicycle kick alert! Panama’s Marta Cox scored this stunner on their playoff semi-final win over Papua Ne w Guinea last weekend. This is an extract from our weekly women’s football email, Moving the Goalposts. To subscribe, just visit this page and follow the instructions. Got a question for our writers – or want to suggest a topic to cover? Get in touch by emailing moving.goalposts@theguardian.com or posting BTL.