Young England scoop the big award
THEY are the pride of Young Lions who gave English football a thrilling glimpse of the future in 2017.
World Cup-winning captains Lewis Cook and Joel Latibeaudiere and European Championship-winning skipper Jay Dasilva collected the Inspirational Performance gong at Mirror Sport’s Pride of Sport awards in partnership with TSB last night. And as the Three
Lions collected the award with their coaches at a starstudded ceremony in London, England Under-20 boss Paul Simpson said: “In all age groups, English players have shown they can compete and win on the global stage.”
After years of hurt at senior level, this six-pack is England’s real golden generation: Under-17 World Cup-winning captain Latibeaudiere and coach Steve Cooper, Under-20 World Cup-winning skipper Cook and coach Simpson, and Under-19 European champions Dasilva (captain) and Keith Downing (coach).
Cooper, whose Under-17s beat Spain to win their World Cup final in Kolkata last month, said: “I hope there were a lot of young kids watching because, like everyone else, we were utterly inspired by what happened in summer.”
Six-times Paralympic champion David Weir was given a lifetime achievement award.
Pride of Sport celebrates unsung heroes of sport and those who have achieved extraordinary feats.