England ’s all-conquering women’s team must be honoured by the Queen, fans, politicians and former players have urged.
The historic 2-1 victory over old foes Germany at Wembley gave us our first trophy in a senior tournament since the men’s famous victory in 1966. England legend Ian Wright said: “I think that when the cricket team won the world cup they were all given MBEs. They should be thinking about that now for the women. This team deserves every accolade, everything that can be bestowed upon them.”
Labour called on the Government to ensure all the Lionesses receive “the recognition they deserve” in the New Years’ Honours. Asked if the Prime Minister will back damehoods for the team following their win, his official spokesman said: “He would definitely want to see the team receive the recognition they rightly deserve for their historic victory.
“On honours specifically, there is obviously a process that is a matter for the independent honours committee, but clearly the public want to see (the) Lionesses receive recognition.”
The team could be added to the New Year’s honours. There were talks before the final about what to do if they won the Euros. “There’ll have to be something given,” said a No 10 source. “We’ve honoured the men in the past even when they didn’t win anything.”
Emma Raducanu had been added to the list late last year after she won the US Open in September. There is also likely to be an honorary award for Sarina Wiegman, 52, the coach, who as a Dutch citizen is not eligible for British honours.
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Ryan Grumbridge, 40, who travelled from Oldham to the capital to watch the final, also called for the team to get the recognition they deserved. He said the Lionesses were “fantastic role models” for his daughters Ruby and Amelia, aged 11 and 13. A record 17.4m viewers tuned in, making it the most-watched women’s football game on UK television.
The crowd of 87,192 at Wembley - a record attendance for the Euros - saw Londoner Chloe Kelly take off her shirt in an iconic celebration of the winning goal.
She told 7,000 fans in Trafalgar Square at the Victory Parade: “The shirt’s staying on! It’s so special to share this moment with such an amazing bunch of girls. I ain’t stopped dancing, my feet just keep going! We had a good night but some of us were a bit worse for wear.”
The team partied until 4am, with the trophy placed in an ice bucket on the team bus, and some the team wearing sunglasses yesterday because of their hangovers.
Ella Toone said: “Everyone is dancing, beers flying everywhere, there’s Abba, Celine Dion. The bus back to the hotel, there was partying. Everyone was everywhere on tables and chairs. We had pizza post-match, they treated us with canapes. I didn’t have any. I had a bit of pizza and just beer.”
Manager Sarina paid tribute to ‘very good football players....and very good people’. “The commitment, the resilience, the behaviour towards each other,” she added. “The support has been so incredible and most of all the willingness to win so badly.”
The sights of defender Lucy Bronze are now set on the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year. “It’s another trophy, the best one by far,” she said. “But there’s still one more we can get our hands on next year.”
All 23 players will have sports facilities named after them in their hometowns. They have already received the freedom of the city of London. Stars from all over the world, including David Beckham, David Baddiel and US singer Shania Twain, hailed the historic victory as one for women and equality.
In Trafalgar Square, fans spoke of their pride, and hopes for the future. Katie Mercer, 32 and from London, has brought her two-year-old daughter Olivia along. “I didn’t want her to miss it. She won’t remember.
“But there’ll be pictures and then I can tell her she was there.” Katie, a PE teacher who runs the school football team, added: “I think it’s massively important because even when I was a kid, which wasn’t a crazy long time ago, there wasn’t an opportunity for me to play.
For Louise Sturdee, 22, from Luton, it was also a very emotional moment. “I can’t find the words. I’ve been to so many Lionesses games in the past, since I was 15 years old. I’m still speechless.
“Thank God, I’m dehydrated because I would have cried so much.” Sarah Kelly, 23, used to play for a girl’s team when she was younger but it folded when she was 12. “I remember I used to go to this training camp with my older brother also, and then I got to a certain age and they were like, ‘You can’t come to it’,” she said.
Marrie Wieczorek, 65, of Middlesbrough, played 40 years ago, at a time when it wasn’t exactly the done thing. She was working at a bakery in town when she got the call up to play for England in 1980.
“We got our train expenses and that was it,” she recalled. “We had to make our way to London. Obviously, it was such a big honour. I didn’t care, I would have walked there.”
Marrie faced chauvinism. She played for Middlesbrough FC women’s team for 22 years, before going on to be boss, when they were heckled at matches: “We had loads of referees saying, ‘you should be in the bloody kitchen, don’t know what you are doing on the field.’
“We’d ask ‘Well, why are you here?’ They’d say ‘because we get paid more for a women’s game’. At working men’s clubs, they would be coming out as we were kicking off and shouting things like ‘take your tops off! But when they stopped and watched for a while, we could hear the difference. They’d be saying, ‘Oh, these lasses can play!’ We’ve been through the whole thing.
“But it’s just so nice to see everything where it is now.” Watching the Lionesses win at Wembley, surrounded by legions of fans, made Marrie break down.
“I cry at the National Anthem. I was buzzing, crying, singing, buzzing, crying, and singing. I couldn’t make my mind up,” she laughed. “I’m immensely proud.”
Simon Chadwick, global professor of sport at Emlyon Business School in Paris, said the tournament victory for the team could amount to “tens of millions” over their careers. “This is a very important moment,” he said. “I think it is a tipping point. If they are open to the opportunities, we are talking about potentially some of those players earning tens of millions.”
