Lionesses in line for New Year Honours and invite to No 10 after making World Cup final
The England women’s football team is in line for gongs in the New Year Honours list after falling just short of winning the World Cup.
The Lionesses are also set to be invited to 10 Downing Street for a reception with Rishi Sunak to celebrate their success in reaching the final of the tournament in Australia, a year after they became European champions.
The Prime Minister hailed the team’s “legacy”, saying the players had “inspired a whole generation of youngsters”. Opposition leaders Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey called on them all to be given an honour at the next opportunity.
No 10 is understood to look favourably on the idea of handing out gongs to members of the team who do not already have one, but any decision will need to be formally signed off by the committee that oversees the system.
A Government spokesman said: “I think no one’s in any doubt about what an inspiration they have been, and that they’ve represented this country incredibly well. Obviously, it’s for the honours committee to make a decision on recognising that significant achievement.”
The team will be formally invited to visit Downing Street if they are happy to celebrate their performance despite losing 1-0 to Spain in the tightly fought final.
Half of all currently active footballers who have an MBE or OBE are women, with a number of leading players being given honours in the wake of last year’s Euros triumph. Coach Sarina Wiegman, who is Dutch, was appointed an honorary CBE.
The last time an entire sporting team was recognised in the honours list was 2005, when the Ashes-winning England cricket squad all received gongs.
Every England player from the 1966 World Cup ended up with an MBE, although in some cases it took decades for them to receive formal recognition.
Mr Sunak said: “I think we’re all being incredibly proud about what the Lionesses have achieved and what an incredible set of memories we’ve all got. And even though, you know, we didn’t get the result we wanted yesterday, their legacy is completely secure. I mean, what an incredible achievement, inspired a whole generation of youngsters and something that we can all be very proud of.”
Education minister Claire Coutinho said the World Cup final achievement was “incredibly cool”, telling LBC: “I don’t know the details of how they’re going to get honoured, but I really think we must do everything we can because they’ve done so incredibly well.”
Labour leader Sir Keir said: “They’ve inspired a generation of women and girls to play football, take up sport, and to remove any doubt in their minds that they too can go all the way in their chosen field. There’s no doubt that they should be recognised by the honours system.”
Sir Ed, of the Liberal Democrats, added: “Their incredible achievements deserve to be rewarded with honours for everyone on the team.”
