Yahoo News Girls' football now so popular clubs 'can't form teams fast enough'
Members of Lioness Ella Toone's former side said clubs now have girls' teams 'in every year group'.
Despite World Cup Final disappointment, girls' football in England looks to be in better shape than ever, according to Lioness Ella Toone's old club.
That’s the assessment of Lioness Ella Toone’s old club, so much so that they “can’t form teams fast enough”.
England’s dream of lifting a first World Cup was dashed at the final hurdle after Olga Carmona’s first-half strike proved enough to secure Spain a 1-0 victory in Sydney.
But Lorraine Warwick-Ellis, from Astley and Tyldesley Community Football Club where Toone used to play, had told the BBC: “(Women’s football) weren’t televised for a long time, which was a shame. Now we are on TV, we’re visual and the girls can see it, they can be it.
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“It’s great to see all these young girls now who are coming down. It’s like we cannot form teams fast enough for them. It’s superb.”
Chris Nuttall,Toone’s former PE teacher, said she was a “dream” pupil because she got other students involved.
The PE teacher at Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley told the BBC: “We have girls’ teams now in every year group. A lot of girls are very interested and we were just chatting then about how many of the students are coming through wanting to be part of the girls’ team, and that is massively down to Ella and her achievements.”
The positivity comes despite England falling short of securing their second major title in 13 months following European Championship success last summer.
Victory against Spain for the Lionesses, under brilliant Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman, would have seen them become the first England team since 1966 to win an elite final on the global stage.
Read More: ‘Bring it home’: King and Prince William all wish Lionesses good luck ahead of final
Sarina Wiegman’s side still achieved a best-ever second-place finish, but that will be little consolation to the Lionesses, who came within inches of an opener when Lauren Hemp clipped the crossbar in the first half.
