Some moments you will remember for a lifetime. One of mine happened 15 minutes after England won the World Cup in 1966. Like almost everyone else in the country, Plum, my wife of three months, and I had just watched the final on TV and were driving my little red MG Midget to celebrate with friends. I was 25 and Plum was 21. People got married young then.
It wasn’t a particularly hot summer’s day in Liverpool, but we still had the hood down. We wanted everyone to see how lucky we were.
And as we headed out of town, it felt like we were participating in some sort of impromptu national jamboree, as nearly every driver we passed honked and waved at us.
And we waved back, feeling like stars ourselves.
Every generation should have such a victory day.
The Lionesses celebrate on the field after their victory against Australia in the semi-final of the World Cup last week
The English women celebrate Alessia Russo’s goal against Australia in the semi-final of the World Cup
The Lionesses train a day before the World Cup final against Spain
Because it felt like our victory. Yes, Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore and Martin Peters had done the heavy lifting that afternoon at Wembley.
But in the game they had become us and we had become them, uniting us all in a grand undertaking that can only be accomplished in moments of extraordinary emotion.
And this morning will be another such moment. For the first time since 1966, an England national football team is in a World Cup final.
It is an opportunity to remember and enjoy.
But how did this shared affection for the female game come about? And so suddenly? Last year it seemed like the nation was indifferent.
The noise and bragging and overspending of the Premier League, with its multi-millionaire international players, left no room in the national psyche for the women’s game.
Then, almost out of nowhere, came last summer’s European Championship victory for women and suddenly anything seemed possible. Not just for the England team, but for all young women on teams across the country and those watching at home with their parents. We’ve seen their faces in the stadium crowd, their mouths open in awe, conveying hope and excitement.
‘If they can do it’, their eyes seem to say, ‘so can I. We also. And the Lionesses show us how.’
For too long, football has been a man’s affair, in defiance of a nation that embraced sexual equality decades ago.
England captain Bobby Moore kisses the Jules Rimet trophy as the team celebrates winning the 1966 World Cup final
Some moments you will remember for a lifetime. One of mine happened 15 minutes after England won the 1966 World Cup, writes Ray Connolly (pictured)
Yes, the Premier League prides itself on speed and strength, divisions where female footballers only come second. But the fun of playing football isn’t just about how fast you can run or how hard you can kick the ball.
And there is no physical barrier for women to achieve the level of skill and team organization displayed in the men’s game when coached early in their careers.
And herein lies the future.
Will parents now demand that schools provide more football facilities for girls? I think they will. But will schools be able and willing to provide that? I think they may feel they have to.
It’s amazing that women’s football has taken so long to catch up. Movies like Bend It Like Beckham and Gregory’s Girl, about girl soccer players, captured the imagination of their fans. But this week fantasy became reality.
When schools reopen in September, expect many young girls in football boots.
That’s what the Lionesses have achieved. They have opened the eyes of a generation of girls and young women to a new possibility.
But where are men? Will they now feel like their all-male territory is being encroached upon?
Some stick-in-the-mud misery will probably think so.
But just as my wife and I congratulated each other 57 years ago on England’s victory against West Germany, we can all now envision a brighter future for football – with more women going to men’s matches and, just as importantly, more men to women’s competitions.