Government's £600m package for school sport part of Lionesses 'legacy'

England created past by winning their archetypal large women's tourney astatine Wembley past July

England skipper Leah Williamson has welcomed a important authorities bundle which volition question to make adjacent schoolhouse athletics opportunities for girls.

More than £600m of backing is to beryllium delivered implicit 2 world years.

It comes aft the 23 members of England's Euro 2022-winning squad wrote an unfastened missive to the government.

Williamson said the Lionesses wanted "to unfastened the doors" for young girls arsenic portion of their bequest pursuing past summer's success, opening with changes successful schoolhouse sport.

"The occurrence of the summertime has inspired truthful galore young girls to prosecute their passionateness for football," said Williamson, who identified team-mate Lotte Wubben-Moy arsenic a cardinal driving force.

"We spot it arsenic our work to unfastened the doors for them to bash truthful and this announcement makes that possible. This is the bequest that we privation to unrecorded overmuch longer than america arsenic a team."

Wubben-Moy said: "By making shot much accessible to millions of girls crossed the nation, we person opened a important doorway for the maturation of women's shot and women's athletics arsenic a whole. I americium arrogant to beryllium portion of thing that volition unrecorded connected for generations to come."

According to Football Association figures, lone 67% of each schools and 41% of secondary schools connection shot arsenic to girls successful PE lessons, and lone 46% of schools supply the aforesaid extracurricular opportunities arsenic boys.

The backing bundle volition encompass some schoolhouse athletics and after-school activities, portion an further £57m volition beryllium made disposable to unfastened athletics facilities extracurricular of schoolhouse hours and the School Games Organisers web volition person £22m.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: "Last twelvemonth the Lionesses' triumph changed the game. Young girls cognize erstwhile they instrumentality to the transportation that shot is for them and, acknowledgment to the Lionesses, they excessively could beryllium a portion of the adjacent procreation to bring it location for their country.

"We privation schools to physique connected this legacy."

The announcement coincides with International Women's Day, erstwhile much than 200,000 girls volition enactment successful the FA's Let Girls Play events successful schools crossed the country.

Schools which successfully present adjacent opportunities for girls and boys volition beryllium rewarded done the School Games Mark.

FA main enforcement Mark Bullingham said: "The magic of past summer's Euros triumph tin present unrecorded connected with a bequest that has the quality to alteration the aboriginal of women's shot and positively interaction society."

FA manager of women's shot Baroness Sue Campbell added: "A speech led by Lotte Wubben-Moy and Leah Williamson connected the autobus from the Trafalgar Square celebrations has contiguous delivered existent alteration successful nine and the announcement is testament to their tenacity and fantabulous engagement with the Government.

"The FA are arsenic arrogant of them arsenic we person ever been."