2023-08-20 06:00:05
Supporters during England’s victory over Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-final at BoxPark Croydon in London on August 16, 2023. AARON CHOWN / AP
This time it’s serious. Even the military band outside Buckingham Palace, with their eye-length fur hats and crimson tunics, played Sweet Caroline, the informal anthem sung by English football in the event of victory. The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, also went there with his encouragement: “more than a game [pour gagner la Coupe]… » BoxPark – a group which manages three large halls specializing in the retransmission of matches, including one next to Wembley Stadium in London – sold its 2,500 tickets… in eight minutes. The final of the Women’s World Cup opposes Sunday, August 20, at noon (Paris time), England to Spain. The nation that boasts of having invented football is holding its breath.
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In Wirral, near Liverpool, Sarah Laing-Gibbens and her teammates are preparing to descend en masse at the Railway, their local pub. “We go there with the whole team, our children, our families. It’s gonna be madness. » It’s been three years since this mother of two children started kicking the ball. “I loved this sport when I was young but I was told it was not for girls and I had to focus on netball [une sorte de basket] and field hockey. »
Today, the one who doesn’t miss a Manchester City match is savoring the revenge of women’s football. England’s men’s team have not won the World Cup since 1966, failing every four years despite – or because of – an entire country’s expectations. “If you want the job done right, just ask the women”replies Sarah Laing-Gibbens, hoping for the triumph of the Three Lionesses, the “Three Lionesses”, this Sunday.
The turning point of Euro 2022
The story of this fiftieth anniversary sums up that of the “national sport” across the Channel, which was for a long time confined to a men’s affair. But over the past decade, things have changed. In 2019, her daughter, who was 6, watched matches at the Women’s World Cup. “She wanted to join a team and I spent very long hours at the edge of the field encouraging her. Then I also joined a team with players aged between 28 and 72. » His club was initially called “Girls with balls”, before renaming itself – to be a bit more politically correct – Wirral Valkyries.
Cathy Patterson is the trainer and founder. “Ten years ago, there were six of us in training, it was very hard. » Today, the formation has 35 players and forty women are on the waiting list. “I received two more after the semi-final [du Mondial 2023 contre l’Australie]. »
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