Football pitch named after Ella Toone ahead of Women's World Cup

With the Manchester United midfielder playing a major part in England's first tournament success since 1966, the 'Ella Toone Pitch' was unveiled at the new William Fosters Hub in Ince last week, just a short distance from her hometown of Tyldesley.

The pitches are part of the Football Foundation’s ‘HERe to Play’ campaign that celebrates the charity’s commitment to delivering facilities providing equal access to women and girls playing football.

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Each of the Lionesses will have a pitch named after them in their local area (Image: PA)

Toone said: “It’s amazing. Growing up and starting out my football journey, I never once thought there would be a pitch named after me – it’s an honour.

"[The Euros win] has been amazing. I think for us, that’s what it was all about – obviously we wanted to win the tournament, but how can we really help women’s football grow?

“After the win it’s blown up massively, but for us, it’s about keeping our foot on the gas and using our platforms as best we can to really help grow the game.

"I think for us it’s always about equal access for girls and boys and hopefully we can get many starting out on their football journeys.”

Ella in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Women's FA Cup (Image: PA)

Following the Euros success last summer, the Football Association has reported an increase in female participation figures and record attendances at women’s games, while the government announced a financial package to boost school sport and equal access to it.

For the Lionesses, however, their main focus is on the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in July.

Despite a lengthy unbeaten run, England were beaten by Australia 2-0 in their most recent outing, and skipper Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby, and potentially Beth Mead have been ruled out of the tournament due to injuries. 

The Lioness' focus is the Women's World Cup in July (Image: PA)

Speaking to the PA News agency, Toone said: “The injuries are really difficult to take.

“No-one ever wants to see team-mates and other players have bad injuries like that. So it’s been difficult, and players that are a massive part of our squad.

“But we have to focus on what we have, and that is so much talent within the squad. We have young girls coming up now into the squad who have unbelievable talent.

“So I think for us it’s about going there, being confident in ourselves and each other, and hopefully we can do the nation proud again.

“We know what it takes to win a trophy and how it feels once you win it, and we want that feeling so many more times for our country. So it’s about going there with that belief, belief in the squad, in ourselves, and just playing the football we love playing.

“We know we have a target on our backs now but I think as players we thrive off that.”

Referencing the loss to Australia, the midfielder added: “We lost, and that’s part and parcel of football. I think you learn so much from games like that, and it probably came at a perfect time for us. It’s definitely not a worry, and we’ll learn from it.”