England defender Millie Bright is “still Killamarsh at heart”, according to the chairman of the football club where she started, who said there is talk of an open-top bus tour of her village.
Mick Atherton said the whole population of Killamarsh, near Sheffield, was behind Bright, who began her football story with the under-12s at Killamarsh Dynamos as a 40-goal-a-season striker.
Bright and her fellow Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 after extra time in front of 87,000 supporters at Wembley Stadium on Sunday to win Euro 2022.
Mr Atherton said: “We all look at her with immense pride to see how far she’s gone.
“It was clear from day one she was going to go on to bigger and better things.
“The whole village is proud of her. What she’s achieved is fantastic.”
He said: “She’s still Killamarsh at heart, which is fantastic.”
Mr Atherton said he nipped out of the house at half-time and there was no-one around at all because everyone was glued to the match.
“What the girls achieved was just absolutely fantastic,” he said.
And he added: “There’s been all sorts of social media on about having a bus tour in the village.”
From @KillamarshDynam to Chelsea and the @Lionesses, @Mdawg1bright has had an impressive journey ⚽️#TakeYourChance pic.twitter.com/W2uzPXZY7q
— England Football (@EnglandFootball) January 7, 2022
Mr Atherton said the possibility of a local homecoming tour might also include Bright’s team-mate Ellie Roebuck, who played her youth football with nearby Beighton Magpies.
He said of Bright: “She never forgets the village. She never forgets the girls.
“During the run-up to the tournament, she’s been back for a presentation here.
“She took all the girls down to St George’s Park to meet the England team.
“Not all the girls are going to carry on playing football forever but they will remember that sort of thing.”
And he said: “It’ll be interesting to see how many more girls turn up to the soccer school tonight. I’m sure there will be some.”
Mr Atherton said: “It will open lots and lots of doors for girls to play football, which is brilliant.”
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