North Yorkshire pays tribute to England's heroic Lionesses after historic Euro Championships victory
North Yorkshire Council has paid tribute to the “talent and unbelievable commitment” of England’s women’s football team after their triumph in the Euro 2025 finals.
Council leaders heralded The Lionesses’ dramatic penalty shoot-out success over Spain as a moment to inspire future generations in the sport, especially, younger generations of girls and teenagers.
Among the team was forward Beth Mead who grew up in Hinderwell, near Whitby.
The 30-year-old came on as a substitute in the second half of Sunday’s final in Basel in Switzerland.
North Yorkshire Council’s chair, Coun George Jabbour, said: “The England women’s football team’s win is truly inspirational in what was such a historic accomplishment.
“To win two European Championships in a row and to become the first senior England national team to ever triumph in a tournament on foreign soil is a remarkable achievement,and that is down to the talent and unbelievable commitment of every member of the squad.
“Everyone in North Yorkshire should be so proud of the whole team, in particular our own Beth Mead.”
The fortunes of the England women’s football team in recent years, which saw the players reach the World Cup final in 2023 only to lose 1-0 to Spain, has seen a dramatic rise in interest in the sport.
North Yorkshire Council hopes that the remarkable success of the women’s team will help to promote wider health and wellbeing.
The council recently launched a new sport and active wellbeing service under the Active North Yorkshire banner as part of its plans to bring all its leisure services in-house.
Active North Yorkshire is focussed on supporting everyone in the community to be active, with an increased emphasis placed on improving the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the county’s communities.
North Yorkshire Council leader, Coun Carl Les, said: “We hope that the success of the women’s team will capture everyone’s imagination and help to promote health and wellbeing for all of our communities.
“Active North Yorkshire is aimed at ensuring just that."
The Lionesses will take part in an open-top bus parade in London today to celebrate their success.