Emotional moment girl, 8, is awestruck by Wembley Stadium and England's inspiring Lionesses
01.08.2022 - 11:27
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Her huge smile in total awe of Wembley demonstrates the inspirational legacy of the Lionesses' thrilling Euro 2022 victory over Germany. Eight-year-old football fanatic Evie Jackson was filmed by her dad as she set eyes on the stadium - and its record crowd - for the first time on Sunday evening.
Opening a door from a concourse to take their seats, Evie, clutching her match programme, stops then looks around and turns back towards the camera with a sense of wonderment etched over her face. "Why's it so big?" Evie asks her dad, Matt, before they take their seats to watch England's women make history.
Evie, a promising goalkeeper from Leigh, Wigan, was gifted a ticket for the European Championship Final after a Twitter appeal. Dad Matt said she was 'amazed' at the sheer size of Wembley.
The Lionesses, he said, have 'changed the landscape of women's sport' with the 2-1 extra-time win over Germany. Evie and Matt capped their tournament experience of trips to Leeds United’' Elland Road and St George's Park by witnessing England's famous victory over Germany on Sunday.
Evie, meanwhile, said the historic win would inspire confidence in girls to get out and play. Matt had appealed on Twitter to find tickets for the final and said he had nearly given up hope when a stranger contacted him to offer two tickets free of charge.
"I feel really lucky and I didn’t know what was happening because I thought it was going to be fake," said Evie ahead of the final. "I was so excited when I heard that we got the tickets. I was crying because I thought that we wouldn’t have been able to go.
"I think that they've set up women’s football and it is crazy to see how far women’s football has come. It also inspires a lot of young girls that