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MARY-JANE DUNCAN: Those Lionesses have changed the world for women

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Three lions on a shirt, or should we say three lionesses?  I am not a great football fan, even after my Dad took me to some matches, it didn’t pique my interest.

The beautiful game even sometimes offends my sensibilities because of the importance it is afforded and the cash thrown about.

Thanks Marcus Rashford

Thank goodness for Marcus Rashford restoring my faith in humanity and there are times I believe he should be defended at all costs seeing as he is the closest thing to a welfare system we have.

The last time I was excited by a football match of any kind was in 1998 during the World Cup.

I just had to hear the first few bars of the Carnival De Paris and I was up, dancing on a table, pint in hand, cheering on whoever was playing.

The sun shone ALL summer and the minute those bag pipes hit the chorus, the whole of Scotland became French and supported the hosts in a fashion never before seen by 22-year-old me.  Held in France.  Won by France.  Perfect.

<br />Chloe Kelly (18 England) celebrates her goal in extra time during the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 Final football match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium.

The best summer

That summer remains legendary in my memory.  Everyone seemed to be off, or working part-time during our break from University.  Everyone was in a great mood.  Nobody needed to know much about what was going on, other than who you had in the sweepy and what pub we’d all be meeting at to watch the match.

For the first time ever, I got excited about a tournament other than the 6 Nations (or the 5 Nations as it was known then seeing as the Italian rugby team didn’t join till 2000) . It was GLORIOUS.  From the beginning of June to the middle of July, it might well have been in Paris but we felt like we were right there.

A football tournament hasn’t even piqued my interest since. I didn’t watch this year’s UEFA European Women’s Football Championship, even though it was hosted in England.

Suddenly everything changed

Scotland didn’t make it through to the finals, having being binned out by Finland, and while I could’ve stepped up to cheer on Northern Ireland, I’ll admit the whole thing past by without me even noticing.  Or caring.

Until this weekend.  You’d have to be a hermit not to know the England team beat Germany 2:1 to become the victors. Approximately 17.4 million people watched the match.  A match at Wembley Stadium.  Attended by more than 87,000 people.

It was jampacked, breaking match attendance records for both male AND female matches.  It appears this team of women in football have trained relentlessly, practised tirelessly, shown up and done what their male equivalents in football have failed to do for 56 years.

I’m thrilled, I’m grateful

The last time England won anything, women weren’t even allowed to play football!  While I won’t be donning a Union Jack bucket hat or flying a flag from the car window, I am thrilled and grateful for what they’ve achieved for women in sport around the world.

The Metropolitan Police cite only two arrests were made at Wembley and none at the Trafalgar Square fan zone.

Fans were tweeting about the electric, friendly atmosphere where they all felt welcome and safe.  What a difference from previous scenes after the men’s tournament.

The German team returned home to a deserved hero’s welcome regardless of not winning the final, because they still came second.

My parents brought me up to believe I could do anything just as well as the boys in my class, and yet still there was only one lassie in our year that played football well enough for the boys to let her join.

Here’s to the future

The rest of us herded, safety in numbers, towards netball or hockey.  As a mother of three daughters, I have done done nothing but taxi my kids to whatever sport they chose to try.  Tennis, rugby, hockey, football, surfing.  You name it, they’ve tried it.

And without prejudice regards to what sex they were.

We can only hope this victory and the shift in momentum it brings for women in sport is acknowledged and capitalised on.  Sponsorships, coverage and the gathering pace will hopefully coincide with increased professionalism and participation.

It will set an example for females with an interest in sport everywhere.

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