An open letter signed by all 23 members of England's victorious Euro 2022 squad calls for Conservative Party leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss "to make a huge difference"
Wednesday 3 August 2022 23:14, UK
England's victorious Euro 2022 players have urged the next Prime Minister to give every girl in the nation the chance to follow in their footsteps.
In an open letter to Conservative Party leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, signed by all 23 members of the squad which beat Germany 2-1 after extra-time in Sunday's final, the Lionesses have called on the Government "to make a huge difference".
In it, they say: "On Sunday evening history was made. The dreams of 23 women came true. England became European Champions for the first time in history.
"Throughout the Euros, we as a team spoke about our legacy and goal to inspire a nation. Many will think that this has already been achieved, but we see this as only the beginning.
"We are looking to the future. We want to create real change in this country and we are asking you, if you were to become Prime Minister on 5 September, to help us achieve that change."
The Lionesses point out that only 63 per cent of girls can play football in school physical education lessons, and urge the Government to ensure girls have access to at least two hours of PE each week and the guidance of female teachers in the subject.
The letter continues: "This is something that we all experienced growing up. We were often stopped from playing, so we made our own teams, we travelled across the country and despite the odds, we just kept playing football.
"Women's football has come a long way. But it still has a long way to go."
Truss was the first to respond to the letter via Twitter saying she "wants equal access to all sports for boys and girls and supports campaigns such as the FA's Let Girls Play campaign" and is "committed to investigating" what prevents schools from delivering the recommended minimum of PE.
Sunak responded by committing to an immediate review of women's football if made Prime Minister and says he will also ask Ofsted "to inspect sport in schools as part of every inspection".
All available general admission tickets for the Lionesses' October international against the United States at Wembley have sold out inside 24 hours.
The mouth-watering fixture is scheduled for Friday October 7 providing England qualify for the World Cup.
The Lionesses announced the fixture on Tuesday afternoon with demand crashing The FA's website.
Watch the stars of England's Euro 2022 triumph play in the Women's Super League live on Sky Sports during the 2022/23 season; the new campaign gets under way on September 10.
England captain Williamson will lead her Arsenal side into an opening weekend clash at Manchester City in front of the Sky cameras on September 11.
That match comes a day after the season's curtain-raiser between Tottenham and Manchester United at 12.30pm on September 10, also live on Sky Sports.
