Koulibaly hits back at Laurentis

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LONDON - Newly-crowned women’s European champions England have written an open letter to the two candidates to be the next British prime minister, calling for greater opportunities for girls to play football in schools and reminding them that the women’s game still has a long way to go.

In a letter addressed to prime minister (PM) hopefuls Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, the team wrote that they had discussed their legacy and objective to inspire the nation as a group.

Sarina Wiegman’s side won their first major honour and the country’s first senior trophy for men or women when they beat Germany 2-1 in the Euros final on Sunday. “Many will think that this has already been achieved, but we see this as only the beginning. We are looking to the future. We want to create real change in this country and we are asking you, if you were to become prime minister on September 5, to help us achieve that change. We want every young girl in the nation to be able to play football at school,” the team said.

The team said that only 63 per cent of girls can play football during physical education (PE lessons at present. “The reality is we are inspiring young girls to play football, only for many to end up going to school and not being able to play,” the team added.

“This is something that we all experienced growing up. We were often stopped from playing. So we made our own teams, we travelled across the country and despite the odds, we kept playing football.”

The team also called for greater investment and support for PE teachers.