The England squad have prepared for their Arnold Clark Cup defence by receiving commemorative legacy caps and numbers in a special ceremony at St. George’s Park.
On the eve of tomorrow’s match with Korea Republic in Milton Keynes, Sarina Wiegman invited four Lionesses legends to present each player with a velvet cap bearing their individual legacy number.
As part of last year’s 50th-anniversary celebrations, The FA confirmed every single player to have represented the Lionesses would receive their own legacy cap.
It recognises their unique place in England history, dating back to the very first official FA match in 1972, and mirrors a similar initiative with the senior men’s team.
Karen Bardsley, Rachel Brown-Finnis, Mo Marley and Ellen White were guests of honour and supported FA women’s technical director Kay Cossington in making the presentations.
Introducing the ceremony in which she also paid tribute to FA women’s development manager Rachel Pavlou for her work on the project, Cossington said: “Connecting the current generation of players to the history of the women’s game is really important for us all as part of our identity and who we are as a team and as a Lionesses family.
These legacy numbers will allow us to keep connecting the past to the present day and moving forward to the future. We want to keep legacies alive.”
Addressing the players directly, she added: “The number you receive, that captures a moment in time and is a unique honour. It is so special and only belongs to you.”
Today’s event saw caps presented to each of the 25 players in the current squad who have been capped, including Jordan Nobbs (legacy number 180) and Lucy Bronze (181) through to the most recent debutants Jess Park (225), Maya Le Tissier (226) and Katie Robinson (227).
As well as all future internationals receiving a legacy cap after making their first appearance, a celebration event will be held in the week of England’s participation in the Finalissima in April allowing as many former Lionesses as possible the opportunity to receive their own cap. Members of the 1972 team were already recognised at the 2-1 defeat of the United States at Wembley Stadium last October.
From the Arnold Clark Cup fixtures onwards, which will also see matches against Italy in Coventry on Sunday and Belgium in Bristol on Wednesday, every England player will always have their legacy number printed in their shirt for every international.