Thousands of fans fill Trafalgar Square for Euro 2022 victory party in new era for women’s football

Trafalgar Square became a sea of red, white and blue on Monday as thousands of football fans descended to cheer on a victorious England women’s team after their history-making win against Germany last night.

A far cry from the lager-throwing crowds at the same London landmark during the men’s Euro final last year, it was families, women and young girls who turned up on Monday morning to herald a new era in the sport.

Sisters Savannah, Xanthe and Kiri Acquah stood draped in England flags in front of a mural of England captain Leah Williamson and two of her teammates.

They watched the Euros final on their phones in the back of the car last night as their dad drove them home from a weekend in Dorset.

“We screamed when England scored,” said Savannah, 22. “Actually, we were kind of worried we were going to distract our dad from driving.”

The sisters used to play football when they were younger but dropped the sport when they got to secondary school. “I’m kind of gutted I gave it up,” said Xanthe, 18. “It’s a shame because all the boys kept playing it in secondary school. But I want to get back into it now!”

Savannah Acquah, Kiri Acquah, Xanthe Acquah and Lula Ashdown are enjoying England’s victory (Photo: Poppy Wood/inews)

The trio were among thousands of young women who waved their flags as they waited for the England team to descend on Trafalgar Square on Monday, a London landmark flanked by statues of male military giants Lord Nelson, Havelock and Napier.

And while the four bronze lions skirting the base of Nelson’s Column basked in the August sun, it was, for once, the Lionesses’ turn to shine.

Girls sat on their dads’ shoulders holding up signs saying “Mead” and “Toone” while boys took selfies in their England shirts. It was hard to tell whether older fans wandering around the famous fountains were sporting facepaint or smears of suncream.

Steve Millington, 42, brought daughter Trixie, 12, and son Zach, 8, to watch the Lionesses complete their victory lap after a jubilant viewing at their home in Brentwood, Essex, last night.

“I was so happy, I was jumping up and down,” said Trixie. “We’ve been to a couple of Lionesses matches at Wembley before but it doesn’t normally get broadcast on TV, so that’s what made last night so amazing.”

Trixie, a striker for her local team, said England goalscorers Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly have become her new inspirations. “I look up to them,” she said. “I want to play for England. It’s my dream now.”

Her father Steve said watching the match last night with son Zach was as important for the family as kickstarting a new generation of female footballers.

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“The fact that he’s watching women play football and winning is probably the most important part,” he said. “It’s about time they’re getting the attention they deserve.”

Young girls in the crowd spoke of wanting to get out on the pitch for the first time, and many had the names “Kelly” and “Williamson” stencilled onto old white t-shirts – a sign of their sudden elevation to household names.

A solo vuvuzela sent sporadic chants across Trafalgar Square, but for the most part the crowds waited in silence for their new heroes to arrive.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan was booed as he emerged on stage in a red and white Nike shirt, though his calls for more girls’ football funding earned cheers from the crowd.

“We’ve got to make sure we don’t squander this legacy,” he said, before a muted rendition of Three Lions spread across Trafalgar Square.

While England’s first major trophy in almost 60 years brought hoards of new faces out and about, some in the crowd have been following women’s football for quite some time.

Flo Mooney (left) has been a lifelong fan of the women’s game and is over the moon that everyone else is catching up (Photo: Poppy Wood/inews)

For Flo Mooney, 25, who watched England’s 2-1 victory against Germany live from Wembley Stadium last night, the win marked the game-changing moment that women’s football spilled over into the national consciousness.

“I’ve been watching women’s football my whole life,” she said. “I play for my local team in south London. I watch all the matches. Last night was surreal, seeing the stadium full and so many people finally getting behind women’s football.”

When the Lionesses finally arrived in Trafalgar Square more than an hour late, most of them trundled on stage in sunglasses, with captain Leah Williamson admitting they were a little worse for wear after a night of heavy celebration.

Asked by compere Alex Scott how the team were feeling, Williamson replied: “We’ve partied more than we’ve actually played football in the past 24 hours.”

Toone, who scored the first of two England goals last night, jumped in to say the team were “buzzing” after their momentous win. “It’s the best feeling in the world,” she said.

Teammate Kelly, who scored England’s crucial second goal on a rebound last night, said it showed “dreams turn into reality”.

“The shirt’s staying on,” she laughed, after a photograph of the footballer ecstatically waving her England shirt above her head last night came to symbolise the country’s first major victory since 1966.

While the Lionesses took turns with the microphone, mothers dutifully applied suncream to young children squinting in the sun to take close-ups of the team.

The giant whipped cream statue on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth looked like it might melt and send its Goliath cherry topping to a sticky landing.

Not that the crowd would have noticed, as Scott declared it was “time to get the party started” and Sweet Caroline, which has become England’s unofficial football anthem, blared up the steps of the National Gallery.

Alcohol was banned from the venue after last year’s delayed Euro 2020 tournament saw celebrations turn into pandemonium. But the crowds weren’t there for a piss-up. As a triumphant Sarina Wiegman lifted the Uefa trophy into the air, confetti blasted over jubilant families using their England flags for shade.

Older fans started to trickle out as a revived Kelly bounced around on stage to Freed From Desire, but younger fans were hooked, shouting “I love you Beth!” and “It’s coming home!” into the crowds.

For once, they were right. The trophy has indeed come home. But with it has come something else – a new world of women’s football, and one that is everything sport should be: grace, joy, and inspiration.