Lionesses will benefit from Euro 2021 delay
Anthony Saunders 10th May, 2020
Following the pushback of the men’s Euros 2020 competition to the following summer, we have also seen the women’s competition be delayed from 2021 to 2022. Although many people may see this as the women’s competition being an afterthought with it having to make way for the men’s competition, I believe it will actually be better for the tournament – especially for our Lionesses.
Moving the Women’s Euros to summer 2022 is going to allow women’s football to have the spotlight it deserves as being the only football tournament that summer. This sentiment is shared by UEFA who stated “we firmly believe that moving to 2022 is in the best interests of the tournament, the players, the fans, women’s football partners and everybody involved in all areas and at all levels of the game. The Women’s Euros is Europe’s biggest women’s sport event. It is also among the biggest sports events in the world, and therefore needs and deserves a platform of its own”.
Image courtesy of guerneseypress.com
As the scale of the Women’s game has grown, so has the amount of promising young players coming through into the national set up. Players such as West Hams new signing Grace Fisk, Manchester United’s Lauren James and Man City trio Georgia Stanway, Ellie Roebuck and Lauren Hemp will all have an additional 2 seasons, as well as an Olympics under their belt, to gain experience and mature into the early promise they have shown. These will be invaluable additions to the squad provided they all fulfil their potential and could be the difference in helping the team overtake the USA in 2022.
Image courtesy of telegraph.co.uk
Last month Phil Neville announced that he will be leaving the Lionesses at the end of his contract in 2021. Neville’s reign started with success, winning 2019 She Believes Cup and a semi-final finish at the World Cup; however, since then things have begun to fizzle out and a slip down to 6th in the FIFA world rankings has left many England faithful concerned over his ability. Losing seven out of eleven games since the WC quarter finals has been the nail in the coffin for Neville and a change of methods may be just what England need to push them to the next level heading into the Euros. There are some notable names linked with succeeding him in the role including Jill Ellis, Emma Hayes and Joe Montemurro, all who have significantly more experience and success in the women’s game and would likely be very tempted by the prospect of leading this group of young, promising players to European glory.
England have not tasted success on home soil since 1966, the 2022 Women’s Euros will be the first chance we’ve had since then to replicate that. The players will be more determined than ever to win the tournament and it is paramount that the FA provide the team with all the right funding and smart decision making they deserve, in the run up to 2022 to help our Lionesses bring it home.
Written by
Anthony Saunders
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