After 56 years of pain and anguish, one thing’s now certain – football’s coming home!

There can’t be many people across the UK who haven’t been immensely proud of The Lionesses – England’s women’s football team – over the last few weeks. If I had a pound for every time I heard someone say ‘well I’m not really a football fan, but I can’t help but love this,’ then I’d be a rich man indeed!

Even just a couple of months ago names such as Sarina Wiegman, Millie Bright, Leah Williamson, Lucy Bronze and Beth Mead were unknown. But now they’re household names – and getting more column inches than Boris Johnson!

So, what true leadership skills must the girls have demonstrated to reach the crowning glory of European football?

Regular readers of my column, will know I have a particular passion for resilience – recently describing that key quality as “the ability to learn from your setbacks and mistakes.”

And there were plenty of setbacks along the way – failing to get past the last four at three successive European championships; conceding early against Spain; a one win, one draw and four losses record against Sweden in European matches; and seeing their lead against Germany wiped out in the dying minutes of ‘proper time’ in the final.

But with true English courage, grit and determination, the Lionesses roared even louder and came back time and time again – most famously with their winning goal in extra time in the final at a packed Wembley stadium.

As well as applauding the resilience they all showed, we must also remain extremely proud of what they’ve done for women’s football in England.

 The Lionesses have truly captured the imagination of the entire country with their determination, happiness, and outrageous skill – who’ll ever forget the amazing back heel goal from Alessia Russo in the semi-finals?!

This has been the most-watched Women’s Euros in history. It broke the previous record for Women’s Euros in-person attendance way back in the group stages, when a cumulative total of 248,075 fans had already been through the turnstiles after just a few games.

To top it off, the 87,192 fans at the Wembley final was the highest attendance for any European Championship final – men’s or women’s.

The FA’s aims for 75% of schools to provide access to girls’ football, and 75% of grassroots clubs to have at least one girls’ team, are important steps.

The Lionesses have been inspirational roles models for the next generation of both girls and boys – just as Gareth Southgate’s side were in 2021 – and the path needs to be clear for the superstars of tomorrow to progress and shine. The momentum from this exciting, exceptional group of players will undoubtedly go a long way towards doing that.

In conclusion, resilience, passion, and motivation is influenced from the top.

And what could be more inspiring than this quote from Team Manager Sarina Wiegman:

“The past is the past, so all eyes forward. We remain in our own little bubble. Everybody says the pressure is on us, but we stay focused on what we need to do to stay in the games.”

If you’d like to explore the subject of resilience more deeply, please contact me via Email: russell@theresiliencecoach.co.uk.