The Lionesses are one step away from making World Cup history after beating tournament hosts Australia in a thrilling semi-final.
Of course the road to get here wasn’t easy, and the sporting stars say there have been plenty of challenges along the way, including sexism and having to work a second job alongside their training to support themselves financially.
Last year, following their historic Euros win, three members of the England squad – Lucy Bronze, Ellen White and Keira Walsh – sat down with OK! for an exclusive shoot, where they chatted about doing all they can to ensure things are different for the next generation by using their platform for good.
While Ellen retired just weeks after the Lionesses won their first-ever European Championships, both Lucy and Keira are part of the squad hoping to take home the trophy on Sunday, 20 August.
Defender Lucy, all time England women’s top goal scorer Ellen, and midfielder Keira told OK! about their dreams coming true, the barriers they’ve overcome, and what they’d like to do with their legacy…
Congratulations! What has the last week been like?
Keira: Crazy! I don’t think you can put it into words.
Ellen: It’s been ridiculous. It’s what you dream would happen. Since 1966 no other England team has won anything like this so it’s absolutely incredible to think we were the ones to do it.
Has your achievement sunk in yet?
Lucy: No. The night we won was a total blur on the pitch. I think the reality is way bigger than the dream was. There were so many obstacles we had to overcome previously, and in the tournament there were so many records broken we didn’t even think we were capable of doing. Things like beating Norway 8-0 and selling out every single stadium and winning against Germany. Everything was a fairytale from start to finish.
What was the Duke of Cambridge saying to you all during the medal presentation?
Lucy: I think he was more excited than some of the players [laughs]! He gets on really well with Jill Scott because he’s come to a couple of our camps and Jill is our longest serving player so they’ve built up a friendship. Jill said he basically jumped on top of her and hugged her so tight! It’s nice to know he’s a big fan and supporter. He’s not just handing out the medals, he’s been to see us play plenty of times.
Were there some sore heads the day after your win?
Keira: Of course. The celebrations carried on until the early hours of the morning. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity so you’ve got to take advantage of it. It was a really special night with our families and the staff.
Lucy: There were a lot of sore heads, tired eyes and sunglasses on the Monday morning!
Ellen: Seeing everyone in Trafalgar Square was incredible. We didn’t know what was happening so for us to get off the coach and just see all those thousands of people was unbelievable. It was a lovely way to thank the fans.
Are you being recognised wherever you go?
Keira: I went to Tesco yesterday to get something for dinner and everyone was asking for a selfie. Normally I can go in there without getting noticed! It’s definitely changed everything. This is what we wanted. For us it’s an opportunity to push women’s football forward. And it’s not just about football, it’s about women in general in society, and now we’ve got a platform where we can raise these issues and we’re more than happy to do so.
Does it feel like a big responsibility to have this platform?
Ellen: I think it’s an important one. It’s exciting that our voice will hopefully be used for change and for something that’s bigger than us. We’re excited for what’s next and to hopefully make a big difference.
What would you like to see happen next?
Lucy: I think what we’ve already achieved in the last month, for things like that to be more regular in terms of our support and the way that the country has got behind us – that would be amazing. In terms of our legacy and the country, we’re really pushing that we want all girls to have access to football in schools. It was something we heard Ian Wright talking about, and then Lotte Wubben-Moy sparked us writing the open letter to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.
We were on the bus in Trafalgar Square and she said, “Are we doing this?” and we all just looked at each other and said, “100%!” It’s something we feel really strongly about, as it’s something we’ve all had to overcome as young girls. We already feel like we’re on the right path to changing a lot of things for the better for girls, and boys too.
What were your experiences like when you were younger?
Keira: When I was at primary school I only ever played with the boys and we didn’t do football in PE lessons, I had to go and find it outside of school. We want everyone to have a safe space to play, and it’s not just about kids either. I’ve had messages from older women who didn’t feel comfortably playing and have started now. I just think it’s about empowering women in general.
Ellen: For me there was the barrier to overcome of not having any girls’ football available to me. I played on the boys’ football team at school and then in a local boys’ team. When I was nine I was told I wasn’t allowed to play with the boys any more. Luckily I got scouted to play at the Arsenal Centre Of Excellence. It was a shame, but I feel like it’s changing. I’ve recently gone back to my primary school and there were lots of girls playing football.
Lucy: I played on a boys’ team until I was 12 but then I was told I couldn’t play with them any more. I had very supportive parents who found a girls’ team for me but it was an hour and a half there and back. It was nice to play with girls but I would have loved to have stayed in that boys’ team as they were my mates. I just wanted to play football. That was difficult to deal with at a young age. But things are slowly changing so girls won’t have that experience and they won’t be told you can’t play with the boys, and boys and girls can just do what they want.
Does it feel like women’s football has finally got the recognition it deserves? Or is there still some way to go?
Lucy: I think the tournament itself felt like we’d come a long way, but now it’s about maintaining that throughout the year and throughout competitions like the Women’s Super League, the Champions League, the qualifiers and the friendlies. In 24 hours we sold out our game coming up against the USA at Wembley, so we’re looking to continue that excitement.
Ellen: I heard at one point there were 40,000 people in the queue trying to get tickets. It’s phenomenal so many people want to support us. We don’t want the Euros to be a one off.
Have you faced a lot of sexism up to this point?
Keira: Yeah, and I think there was still some of that at the tournament. But we’re European champions and no one can take that away from us. There was always going to be people who are unfortunately just like that, but we didn’t have it at the level the girls who came before us did, and we want to change things so young girls don’t have that at all in the future. What was nice for me was that people weren’t just looking at us as female footballers, they were looking at our technical ability and the skill it takes to get to where we are.
What sort of things do people say to you online?
Lucy: The height of it I wouldn’t even repeat it to my own mum, then the lower end of it is the typical kitchen banter.
Keira: I wouldn’t even want to repeat it. I don’t want to give a voice to all the sexist comments. I think that’s what they want to achieve.
How do you deal with online abuse?
Lucy: I report everything. I think it’s so important. Blocking it helps you personally, but sometimes I think they may then target someone else, so I feel a responsibility to report any hateful comments and make sure something is done about it. If we report it we put the responsibility on the social media platforms.
Was there a point where you had to work a second job alongside your football career?
Ellen: I was at Arsenal and I was a sports development officer at the same time. I would go to the gym at 6am, then go to work 9am-5pm, and then train in the evening. There’s so many women footballers who had to do that as we weren’t financially able to just play football and support ourselves. Having to have a job alongside playing at the highest level is insane.
Lucy: We’ve had full-time teachers who’ve played for England. I think we’re the last generation that will have to do that. I worked at Domino’s while playing professionally. The branch I used to work at changed its name to Lucy’s and they all wore bronze helmets while they were delivering. And everyone called Lucy got a free pizza before the final!
So you do feel things are changing in that respect?
Lucy: I think outside of the England team women still have to work. We are quite well supported by the FA. A lot of our players still study but that’s not necessarily because they have to, it’s because you have to think about a career after football. We don’t make enough money to just put our feet up on the beach afterwards and retire. A lot of players in the WSL still work another job and a lot of players have given up as there’s more money being a teacher. It’s a lot of stress trying to manage being a footballer with a regular job.
Is it frustrating that for the majority of male players that’s not the case?
Lucy: It is frustrating. It’s not something we’ll ever get used to. We’re painted to be professional sports people and you play in leagues where the perception is that everyone is professional, but if everyone was professional the standard would go up. Not everyone from other countries in the Euros are professional players – imagine what we could do if everyone was, and what that would do for their quality of life.
Has your Euro win given you confidence for going into the World Cup next year?
Lucy: I think it gives you a lot of confidence as we can finally say we’ve won something and we’ve been in a big final. Ellen and I have played in countless semi-finals and always missed out on a final. Experience counts for a lot and beating Germany with all that pressure, and being a host nation and showing we can do that, puts us in a very good place for next year.
Finally, sum up the last week in three words for us…
All: Dream come true!
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