Leah Williamson typifies how these Lionesses understand their platform

No one with the remotest shred of credibility can now dredge up the tired old suggestion that people simply aren’t interested in watching women’s football. Not after Sunday. After all sorts of attendance records tumbled and 87,000 turned up at Wembley to see England crowned European champions we have finally reached the point so many players, coaches and administrators have worked so hard to achieve for so many years.

I was overjoyed on Sunday but I also found the experience of being at Wembley surreal. I played in the 2009 final in Finland when England lost 6-2 against Germany and the difference between then and now is like night and day. Back then my England teammates and I routinely got told to “get back in the kitchen” when we returned from tournaments and, in truth, the 2009 final was so low key it didn’t feel that much different to any other match.

There were only about four journalists from England out in Helsinki so, during my work for the BBC at Euro 2022 it’s been incredible to see packed press boxes. That sea change explains why I felt emotional watching my former fellow Lioness Jill Scott come on as a substitute in the final on Sunday. At 35 Jill, who also played in the 2009 final, connects that era to the present day and has been a shining light for women’s football. Jill’s superpower is supreme emotional intelligence and she embodies the sense of responsibility for developing the women’s game shared by all England players, past and present.

It’s a powerful collective mindset but we should remember Hope Powell’s trailblazing role in forging it. The Lionesses’ manager back in 2009, Hope, who in many ways was way ahead of her time, spent years fighting to improve the lot of women players in England and did so