The winning side urged the next prime minister – whoever that turns out to be – to ensure their 2-1 win over Germany at Wembley on Sunday was “just the beginning” for women’s football in the UK. But both candidates for the next Conservative Party leader failed to fully commit to the letter’s main demands, which were that girls get two hours of PE lessons every week and that every girl in the country has the same access to football as boys . . The letter was endorsed by a number of famous figures, including soccer stars Rio Ferdinand, Jordan Henderson and Jesse Lingard, who retweeted the message using the hashtag #Letgirlsplay. Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who was pictured attending the final with Minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries, also showed support by commenting under the Lionesses’ Instagram post with applause and thumbs up emojis.
It came just hours after I posted that the Department for Education (DofE) refused to commit to giving girls equal access to football, insisting it was “up to schools to decide” which sports they teach. Commentator and ex-England player Ian Wright also supported the letter, writing on Twitter: “This team keep winning, they did their best! To you @trussliz @RishiSunak #LetGirlsPlay.’
In his response to the Lionesses, Mr Sunak promised to “increase accountability” around PE lessons in schools, but did not commit to providing equal access to the sport for girls and boys. The victorious England side (pictured) urged the next prime minister – whoever that turns out to be – to ensure their 2-1 win over Germany at Wembley on Sunday was “just the beginning” for women’s football in the UK. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss failed to fully commit to the letter’s main demands, which were that girls get two hours of PE lessons every week and that every girl in the country has the same access to football as boys. The Truss campaign, meanwhile, said the prime minister’s hopeful supported the idea and “wants equal access to all sport for boys and girls”, but also promised no specific action. Her campaign added: “It is committed to investigating what is preventing schools from providing the recommended minimum of two hours of physical activity per week.” Social media users were quick to criticize the opponents, calling their statements “empty promises”. One fan replied to Ms Truss: “You have 12 years to invest some good money. You do not have. And you can’t.’ Another simply said: “Word salad, promising nothing,” while another raged under Mr Sunak’s post: “The ultimate definition of deflecting a question with political language. “Would you like to see 2 hours? So commit to making it happen – it can be done, but you don’t say you’re going to because you don’t really care and you jump at anything you can. Just do the right thing.” Twitter users applaud Rishi and Liz’s answers as ‘clear’ and ‘non-committal’ Mr Wright previously pleaded with the government to let girls play football during PE. The commentator said after the Lionesses’ semi-final win against Sweden: “Whatever happens in the final now, if girls aren’t allowed to play football like boys in PE classes after this tournament, then what are we doing?” The team later sealed their dramatic victory over Germany after extra time thanks to goals from Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly to claim their first major trophy in front of 87,192 fans at Wembley Stadium on Sunday night. The entire group signed the joint letter to the two Conservative leadership candidates today, outlining their hopes for change going forward. The entire group have now signed a joint letter to Conservative leadership candidates Rishi Sunak (left) and Liz Truss (right) outlining their hopes for change going forward The letter read: “Dear Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, History was made on Sunday afternoon. “The dreams of 23 women came true. England became European champions for the first time in history. “Throughout the Euros, we as a team have talked about our heritage and our aim 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 become Prime Minister on September 5, to help us achieve that change. “We want every young girl in the country to be able to play football at school. Team urges next Prime Minister to ensure their Euro win is ‘just the start’ The Lionesses are calling on the government to ensure all girls can play football at school “Currently only 63% of girls can play football in PE classes. The reality is that we inspire young girls to play soccer, only many end up going to school and can’t play. “This is something we all experienced growing up. We were often stopped from playing. So we formed our own teams, traveled all over the country and despite the odds, continued to play football. “Women’s football has come a long way. But it still has a long way to go. “We are asking you and your government to ensure that all girls have access to PE for at least two hours a week. Not only do we need to offer football to all girls, but we also need to invest in and support SA female teachers. The team including Georgia Stanway (pictured) want a guarantee of at least two hours of PE every week to ensure the Lionesses’ legacy is not lost “Their role is critical and we need to give them the resources to deliver girls’ football seasons. They are key role models from which so many young girls can flourish.# “We’ve made incredible strides in the women’s game, but this generation of girls deserves more. “They deserve to play football at lunchtime, they deserve to play football in PE and they deserve to believe they can one day play for England. We also want their dreams to come true. “This is an opportunity to make a huge difference. A change that will affect the lives of millions of young girls. “We – the 23 members of England’s Euro Senior Women’s squad – are asking you to make it a priority to invest in girls’ football in schools so that every girl has a choice. “Sincerely, The UEFA Women’s EURO England 2022 team.” England’s clash with the USA at Wembley in October has impressively sold out within 24 hours The Lions’ official Twitter account had a message for fans who bought tickets for the match According to the current guidelines for coaching single-sex sports, while a mixed school may have an “all-boys football team, the school should provide equal opportunities for girls to participate in comparable sporting activities”. These comparable sports include netball, rounders, tennis and badminton. A DfE spokesman said: “The success of the Lionesses at Women’s Euro 2022 will inspire a generation of girls to take up football. “Schools can decide what sports they offer and should aim to take into account the views of their pupils about the activities they want to be able to do.” The legacy of their success is already evident elsewhere, with tickets for England’s friendly against the United States at Wembley selling out less than 24 hours after going on sale. The Lionesses announced the match on Tuesday afternoon after being crowned European champions last Sunday, but by 2pm on Wednesday only the away tickets remained. The FA website crashed multiple times with the governing body apologizing for the issues.