Rishi Sunak said that the team has “brought football home” by creating a lasting legacy for women’s football and inspiring many schoolgirls like his daughters.
British prime minister Rishi Sunak praised England’s football team saying that they had inspired his daughters to believe football was for them. Sharing a letter addressed to the team which is dubbed the Lionesses, and their coach Serena Weigman, Rishi Sunak said, “For my daughters, and for every girl in this country, you have made football something for them; you have made them feel they belong on the pitch. So – in a way – you’ve already brought football home.”
All that remains is to bring the trophy home too – and the whole nation is rooting for you… But whatever the result, I want you to know that you have already secured a lasting legacy: that every girl in this country will have equal access to all school sports, including football,” he said.
The team has already “brought football home” by creating a lasting legacy for women’s football and inspiring many schoolgirls in the UK like his daughters, Krishna and Anoushka, the UK PM added.
For many of you, the honour of putting on that England shirt was earned against the odds. It should never have been like that. At times, some of you were even stopped from playing. But you faced down outdated attitudes and fashioned your own opportunities to play,” he noted.
“So, when you walk out with pride to play for England, you are not just making memories that will stay with us as part of our history, you are playing for a different future. It’s extraordinary to reflect on how far women’s football has come through your generation alone. But the full measure of your impact will be found in just how far women’s football can grow in the generations that follow,” he said.
The UK PM also said that the team had inspired the nation with their “skill, teamwork and courage”.
Rishi Sunak has been under media pressure to fly out to Sydney for UK’s football team’s match that he said he will be watching and cheering alongside millions of others from home.
