The youngsters at St Michael's Church of England Primary School in Trafford had an experience they'll never forget last week as they spent the morning playing with Lego and quizzing England international Lucy Bronze as part of a new campaign encouraging children to think about their role models and challenge gender stereotypes.
"When I was that age at school, I wouldn't have known as much about women's football because it just wasn't anywhere, whereas I walk in and they’re like ‘that’s Lucy Bronze!’" the Manchester City defender told MEN Sport .
"It was nice that they had loads and loads of questions to ask. They’ve still just got no filter to just ask anything. And it works with the Lego because they're really creative but then they just come up with some funny things when they were making. I never got to play with Lego when I was at school so they can count themselves very lucky today."
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The Lionesses kick off their home Women's Euro 2022 campaign at Old Trafford in July - with seven other games to be held in Manchester at City's Academy Stadium and Leigh Sports Village, where Manchester United Women play their home games.
It was fitting that Bronze was in Trafford then, to launch a new campaign from the LEGO Group to encourage youngsters to celebrate the people that inspire them and act as role models. City and England teammate Steph Houghton is also part of the campaign, as is former Lioness Alex Scott.
"Working with Lego now has made me realise that role models are so important," Bronze continued.
"Most kids say that they do take a lot of inspiration from their role models, in terms of feeling better about themselves and wanting to push themselves, I think it is important. That you can speak to the kids and come on their level, especially if you're someone that they might see on TV, and they never think they'd meet you. And then they ask you questions and they might have problems or queries that they think about. They want to ask that person probably more than anybody else in the world.
"So it's nice to be able to be here and answer questions like that, and help young children and inspire them to do something different whether it is building Lego, it might inspire them to be some sort of graphic designer or builder or something or whether it's to do a sport and they want to be a sportsperson."
Research from the LEGO Group shows that 79 per cent of young girls look up to women who challenge old-fashioned gender expectations, with over half (54 per cent) saying it's important that role models don't conform to gender stereotypes. In response, LEGO teamed up with UEFA Women's Euro 2022 to create lesson plans for primary school teachers to encourage children to celebrate and identify their role models through play, helping them to achieve their ambitions.
"This is the biggest opportunity we've ever had as a women's football team, to really touch base with our fans, with the younger fans, the younger generations," Bronze explained ahead of the Euros, in her role promoting the new lesson plans.
"With us being the home nation. You know, we're literally playing our first game around the corner from this school, which is crazy. A lot of the games are sold out. But even just to be around this environment and the buzz around the city. I think it'd be really special for them and for the country and for all the kids around the country for them to be able to come to the games locally, to support the team, to feel a buzz around the country.
"I can imagine this summer will be the most inspirational summer that we've ever had as women's football team.
"A lot of our players are Manchester based, a little more so the blue side, but still we all are really excited to play at Old Trafford. So to get that stadium sold out for the very first game puts us in a really good position. We know that the nation is behind us the support’s there. And if we just get that every single game, we know that you know there could be the 12th player on the pitch and push us on in the tournament."
Bronze admitted her role models growing up were Paula Radcliffe and Kelly Holmes rather than any women's footballers as they were the more prominent female athletes at the time, before she revealed how she finds herself as a role model within the England squad as one of the more senior players.
"I don't even know how many tournaments I've been to now with England, but it's been a fair few. I think I'm fairly comfortable within the team and within the squad knowing my role, knowing my position," she explained.
"I've played right-back nearly 100 games for England now. I feel really confident myself and really comfortable going into this tournament, I know that I've probably got a big role to play in terms of experience just purely from the fact that a lot of the players now don't have as much experience.
"We're going to a tournament for a lot of players who maybe only have a couple of minutes at major tournaments or not even played a single game so they'll all be really excited and that first tournament they’ll have that excitement, and I guess as one of the older players I have to be the experienced one with lots of stories to tell about how you deal with tournaments and things.
"Some of the players tell me I'm their role model. It's funny because obviously being older now, Georgia Stanway always talked about the 2015 World Cup. And obviously I scored a few goals there and then she joined City afterwards and Ellie Roebuck as well, and they were like 'we were so starstruck when we walked in the room with like you and Steph [Houghton] and Jill [Scott]'.
"And then obviously there's younger players now coming to England and they'll talk about watching us play and now we play together so it's kind of surreal. But I mean, I've been that player before. I came to the England squad and was like, 'Alex Scott, you are who I watched when I was younger now I'm trying to take your spot off you!'. So it's kind of come full circle a little bit."
Speaking at the school, Jamie Lees, Head of Leisure at Trafford, was delighted to welcome Bronze to the borough that will open the Euros in front of a sell-out crowd at Old Trafford.
He said: "Trafford Council is recognised as the Sport and Physical Activity Borough for Greater Manchester. We’re delighted to host the Women’s Euros. It’s brilliant to have the event here as a moment of inspiration for the young people of Trafford.
"It’s also about the legacy as well, that any girl or young woman can pick up a ball and go to a local club or session on the back of this and play football for fun but also a pathway into competitive football as well. We’re really trying to provide that pathway to sport and physical activity for local girls, local females and help give them some ownership of football. Football is the biggest engagement tool for males in the borough, and we want to make sure that translates into girls and females as well."
The LEGO Group has launched ‘Play Your Own Way’ lesson plans to encourage children to celebrate the people that inspire them through play, in partnership with UEFA Women’s EURO 2022. Teachers can sign up to download the resources at WEURO2022Schools.com.
