Goalscoring hero Ella Toone called on crowds to flock to domestic women’s football like never before off the back of England’s historic Euro 2022 triumph.
A crowd of 87,192 at Wembley – a Euros record for the men’s or women’s competitions – witnessed the Lionesses defeat Germany 2-1 after extra-time to win their first major tournament.
It was a competition where attendance records tumbled, with the 574,865 people who came through the turnstiles across the 31 games being more than double than the previous high – 247,041 in the Netherlands in 2017.
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However, crowds in last season’s FA Women’s Super League only averaged around 2,000 - and it is hoped England’s status as European champions will lead to a surge in interest in the near future.
That is a view shared by Toone, who said: “I think a lot of people have fallen in love with women’s football this summer. That’s what we set out to do.
“So hopefully the crowds that we’ve had this summer we can get into our grounds at club level and some more fans at the stadium to be on the journey with us.
“It’s massive now, absolutely massive. We can’t forget everyone who came before us, but we’ve left the shirt in a better place for all the little girls growing up and we’re so proud.
“All we wanted to do was inspire the next generation and we have done and women’s football is getting bigger and bigger.”
Toone was one of the players used off the bench to great effect during the tournament by England coach Sarina Wiegman, with the Manchester United forward scoring two goals along the hosts’ road to glory.
Following her late equaliser against Spain in the quarter-finals, it was the 22-year-old who opened the scoring at the scoring in the final after 62 minutes.
Toone did it in some style as well, racing on to Keira Walsh’s through ball before having the nerve to chip the ball over Germany goalkeeper Merle Frohms for a brilliant finish that sent the huge crowd wild.
Toone said: “I’ve seen her coming out and I thought that would be the best shot to do.
“I started celebrating even before it had gone in the net, so I was confident that it was going in and then the whole stadium erupted. Honestly [it’s the] best feeling of my life.
“You can see that the subs have made a massive impact in every game that we’ve come on for. Me and Chloe [Kelly] both scored and both of us [were] starting as subs, but Sarina has said that it’s a squad of 23, so we know our roles.
“We know that when we come on, we have to change the game and that’s what we did.”
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