Former captain Faye White says the lack of media attention after England’s run to the European Championship final in 2009 was “soul destroying”.
The 45-year-old, who skippered the Lionesses for their 6-2 defeat to Germany in the final in Helsinki, was present on Monday to unveil a message of support laid out beneath the flight path out of Heathrow Airport for Sarina Wiegman’s side before they fly to Australia for the Women’s World Cup on Wednesday.
The message, large enough to be visible to the England party as their plane ascends over west London, reads “Lionesses, you’re our pride,” and is tagged with thousands of smaller messages of support submitted by fans across the country.
The move, which has been organised by one of the Football Association’s commercial partners Kind Snacks, marks the strides made in terms of backing for the women’s game, following the lack of media presence at the airport for the team’s return from Finland 14 years ago despite them having become the first England side since 1966 to reach a major tournament final.
“We always knew there was a community out there that wanted to support women’s football,” White, who won 90 caps and played at five major tournaments for England, told the PA news agency.
“But it wasn’t in the mainstream. In 2009, we came back expecting that there might be a few press at the airport. There was no-one. It was soul destroying really.
“What more did we need to do? No other England team had got to a final for decades. We just had, but just because we’re women it didn’t seem to matter.
“But I always knew there was a community of people, and of young girls who wanted to play. That’s what drove us on to become better and to push for this. In our time, we were saying ‘this has to change’. Now we’re seeing it. There are millions of girls who want to play this sport and who love it.”
The Lionesses are looking to build on their triumphant Euro 2022 campaign last summer by becoming the first England team since 1966 to be crowned world champions, and they kick off their tournament against Haiti on July 22.
Wiegman’ side completed their preparations on home soil with a goalless draw against Portugal in Milton Keynes on Saturday, a result the manager described as “disappointing” before insisting the European champions are on track to be ready for their World Cup opener in Brisbane.
They are among the favourites to win a first Women’s World Cup title, a tag which would have seemed unlikely during White’s 15-year international career.
Prior to reaching the semi-final in 2015, losing agonisingly to a stoppage-time own goal from defender Laura Bassett against Japan, the Lionesses had never made the last four of a World Cup.
They repeated the feat four years later, losing out to eventual winners the United States but cementing the team’s reputation as a rising power in the international game.
“From my experience, we always overachieved,” said White of her generation. “How we were supported and funded compared to other nations we were competing against; Germany, America, Sweden – their federations had always had a bigger budget, bigger support.
“In the last few years, getting to a World Cup semi-final was an achievement, but again an over-achievement. In my time, we always got to the latter stages when we weren’t even expected to get out of the group.
“As the game’s grown we’re getting further and further. It just shows what happens when you back it, when you support it – and that’s not just federations but companies, partners like Kind who have put this message on and shown what the England team means to the country and to so many people.
“There are thousands of messages on there that show how much other people, normal people with children who love the game, are supporting.
“I know what a message like this will mean to the players sitting on that plane. It’s an extra piece of the puzzle, that can bring more out of you, even when you’re trying 100 per cent. That extra bit of fight and resilience.”
::KIND Snacks have created a GIANT message of support for the Lionesses as they head off to Australia for the first game in the tournament. The 100m wide sign was made out of thousands of messages of support from the public, including ex-Lionesses Rachel Yankey and Faye White.
