ENGLAND’S Lionesses have finally been congratulated by Wokingham Borough Council, nearly eight months after winning the Euro 2022 championships.
A motion aimed at encouraging young football fans to follow in their footsteps was finally debated at a meeting of Wokingham Borough Council on Thursday, January 19.
Cllr Rebecca Margetts’ motion said that many of the England Women’s team did not have a chance to play football when they were children, and had to travel great distances to pursue that dream.
“I’ve seen the benefit the sport brings to the children,” she said. “I’ve experienced a significant increase in demand for girls’ football. The first team was set up with five girls three and half years ago. There are now over 20 girls at the club. This shows the potential demand and interest in the sport.”
Cllr Andy Croy criticised the motion, saying it was “a desperate attempt to piggyback on the success of the lionesses”, and the council should be “pointing emotions in the right direction” … “we need to support the proper funding of our schools and all activities rather than passing cheap motions that will achieve nothing”.
Cllr Gary Cowan said the motion should be about all sports, not just football, while Cllr Prue Bray pointed out: “This motion does not demand that either the council or schools spend any money creating extra facilities, because if it did, I would not be able to support it.”
Sport is character building, said Clr Michael Firmager, adding that a school in his ward loves having a girls’ team. “Sports should be fun, should be enjoyable and should be encouraged,” he added.
Summing up, Cllr Pauline Jorgensen revealed a secret about herself: growing up she enjoyed a kickabout with boys in the street, and looking on enviously at the footballers while she had to play netball.
“On behalf of all the girls who are not offered the option to play football at the moment, I commend this motion to the council,” she said.
The motion was passed after a named vote.
