LONDON (AP) – In soccer-mad England, which sees itself as the home of the world’s game, women and girls finally have a team full of heroes who look like them.
Some 7,000 singing, dancing, flag-waving fans – many of them mothers and daughters – jammed into central London’s Trafalgar Square on Monday to celebrate England’s victory in the 2022 women’s European championship, the first major soccer victory by any England team in 56 years.
The tournament, hosted by England and watched by record audiences on television and in stadiums across the country, was the culmination of years of investment in women’s soccer that organizers hope will spur more girls to play the game, which is known here as football.
Madison Fullerd-Jones is already on board.
The 9-year-old from Maidstone, southeast of London, got up early and came to the capital with her mother, aunt, two sisters and a cousin to celebrate with the Lionesses, as England’s soccer team is known. Wearing an England shirt and waving a flag bearing the national Cross of St. George, Madison said she hoped to play for England some day, just like her favorite player, Georgia Stanway.