Former Lioness Bassett backing England to take Women's EURO 2022 by storm

Leah Williamson's Lionesses can harness the already ‘indescribable' growth of women's football to catapult the sport to an even higher level at this summer's home EUROs, believes former England ace Laura Bassett — who was speaking at an event in Bury to celebrate the start of the tournament and the £50m of National Lottery investment into women's football over the last decade. Captain Williamson's hosts kick off the hotly-anticipated tournament against Austria at a sold-out Old Trafford this evening bidding to build on their memorable run to the World Cup semi-finals in 2019.

Ad/> Over 11 million people watched Phil Neville's side go down 2-1 to the USA and in the three years that followed, the profile of the Women's Super League — bolstered by the red-hot form of the national team — has continued to snowball. /> Football'Incredible, no words' — England boss Wiegman overwhelmed by opening Euros win4 HOURS AGO Bassett starred in three European Championships between 2003 and 2017 and hopes success for Sarina Wiegman's players over the next four weeks can build a long-term legacy.

The 63-cap international said: «The growth, visibility and impact of the women's game has been unrecognisable in recent years. »It's just brilliant for girls to grow up knowing they can be a professional footballer — the pathway, funding, structure and support is now all there.

«The National Lottery funding since 2012 has been really important — to get more funding and education to reach the elite level and chase your dreams is crucial. »For this summer's EUROs, games are sold out, they've sold more tickets than any other EUROs and we've sold out Wembley for the final.