Glorious Lionesses show girls they can be sports heroes

THERE was a time football was regarded as the exclusive domain of men — but try telling that to England’s Lionesses.

- Ger Wright

Back in 2022, Chloe Kelly’s sports bra celebration after scoring the winner in the Women’s Euros final was hailed as a lesson in liberation by Vogue magazine. This time round, their first match of the tournament will be broadcast live on ITV when they play France on Saturday.

It is expected to attract the size of audience marketing moguls normally only dream about. Make no mistake: women’s football is a commercial success but it’s also much more than that — the Lionesses demonstrate young women can succeed at the highest levels.

This is good news for many reasons, not least for encouraging girls to take up sport. When people my age were growing up, we were typically outside bouncing balls, running around or playing tennis but sadly that’s not typical today. Less than half of children manage the 60 minutes a day of physi cal activity recommended.

This has led to health concerns, with one in five children in England now either overweight or obese by the age of five. Causes include the use of digital screens during leisure time and fewer hours devoted to PE and playtime in schools.