England's Euro 2022 winners honoured with gold plaques at local football clubs
By Ali Rampling
All 23 members of England's Euro 2022 winning squad have had a golden plaque unveiled at a local club or location that was important during the early stages of their footballing journey to honour the part they played in the Lionesses' historic European Championship victory.
England were crowned European champions for the very first time this summer, beating Germany 2-1 in front of a record crowd at Wembley and marking an occasion that is expected to change the face of women's football in the UK.
Chloe Kelly netted the extra time winner against Germany to write her name into the history books, and she has been honoured with a gold plaque at Windmill Park Cages as part of England Football and Nationwide Building Society's 'Where Greatness Is Made' campaign.
"Where I grew up, I was always playing football in the cages so that's made me the player I am today," Kelly told 90min ahead of the Euros.
The plaques have been installed in a variety of locations up and down the country, from universities to local grassroots clubs.
Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner and Player of the Tournament Beth Mead's golden plaque can be found at Teesside University, where she studied for a degree Sports Development while playing for Sunderland. The University currently offers a Beth Mead Scholarship for talented female footballers.
Captain Leah Williamson's golden plaque is at the Scot Sports and Social Club in Milton Keynes, and Keira Walsh, who turned in a player of the match performance in the Euro 2022 final before earning a world record transfer to Barcelona, has a plaque in her honour at her former youth side Blackburn Rovers Football Club.
"The ‘Where Greatness is Made’ campaign aims to promote mutual respect on and off the pitch and inspire the next generation of footballers, as part of the ongoing Mutual Respect partnership," a press release from Nationwide reads. "The plaques will serve as a permanent reminder of the players’ inspirational stories and the importance of mutual respect for all."
The locations for all 23 plaques can be found below:
- Alessia Russo – Bearsted FC, Maidstone
- Alex Greenwood – Northfield FA, Liverpool
- Beth Mead – Teesside University, Teeside
- Bethany England – Junior Tykes FC, Barnsley
- Chloe Kelly – Windmill Park Cages
- Demi Stokes – Boldon Girls FC, Sunderland
- Ella Toone – Astley & Tyldesley FC, Tyldesley
- Ellen White – Aylesbury Town Centre
- Ellie Roebuck – Beighton Magpies FC, Sheffield
- Fran Kirby – Caversham Trents FC, Reading
- Georgia Stanway – Furness Rovers FC, Barrow
- Hannah Hampton – Stoke City FC, Stoke
- Jess Carter – Warwick Juniors FC, Warwick
- Jill Scott – Bolden Girls FC, Sunderland
- Keira Walsh – Blackburn Rovers FC, Blackburn
- Lauren Hemp – North Walsham Youth FC, North Walsham
- Leah Williamson – Scot Sports & Social Club, Milton Keynes
- Lotte Wubben-Moy – Chadwell Heath, London
- Lucy Bronze – Alnwick Town FC, Alnwick
- Mary Earps – West Bridgford Colts FC, Nottingham
- Millie Bright – Killamarsh Dynamos FC, Sheffield
- Nikita Parris – Kingsley United FC, Liverpool
- Rachel Daly – Killinghall Nomads, Harrogate