England win Euros: Girls should get their chance to be Lionesses - The Yorkshire Post says

Yorkshire’s own Gabby Logan summed it up perfectly after England beat Germany to be crowned European Champions on Sunday: “You think it’s all over? It’s only just begun.”

And as images of last night’s victory parade delighted fans of women’s football and all sport across the nation, it would be hard to disagree with the Leeds-born presenter.

But that means there needs to be a lot of hard work in the future to keep the women’s game in the ascendency, just as there has been to get England’s female players to where they are at this moment.

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Rachel Daly of England celebrates with teammates during the England Women's Team Celebration at Trafalgar Square. Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images.Rachel Daly of England celebrates with teammates during the England Women's Team Celebration at Trafalgar Square. Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images.
Rachel Daly of England celebrates with teammates during the England Women's Team Celebration at Trafalgar Square. Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images.
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The Lionesses led by the unshakeable Sarina Wiegman have shown what a unifying force sport can be after giving the country a much-needed lift.

The way in which they conducted themselves during the tournament has been a source of pride and the winning mentality is one we can get used to.

Former England player Alex Scott, who was part of the team which lost 6-2 to Germany in the 2009 final, likened the weekend’s Euros victory to the USA winning the World Cup in 1999.

“That changed everything for them,” she said, believing this to be England’s game-changing moment.

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One area to look at is in the provision of football for young women in schools as part of the physical education curriculum.

A news report last week showed that while around 72 per cent of primary schools offered equal football coaching to boys and girls last year, the figure dropped to just 44 per cent in secondary schools.

It cannot be right that in a nation which absolutely reveres football – we plan our weekends around fixtures and it’s the first thing we talk about with colleagues on a Monday morning – girls are effectively being discouraged from participating as they get to their teenage years.

With renewed will, it is time for our Lionesses to keep roaring on.