The realisation is yet to set in for Nikita Parris.
One month on from that moment at a sold out Wembley when the full-whistle went and it felt like the nation neared combustion, the scale of England’s achievement remains impossible to fully comprehend for those who were at the heart of it.
They are back together this week - well, most of them - for two World Cup qualifiers that they are expected to win easily. The buzz remains high, complete understanding not yet possible. “I don’t think we’ll really appreciate what we did for a long time yet,” Parris says. “We’re on the highest part of the wave currently.”
Yet the 28-year-old forward is more than aware that there is now an opportunity that must not be squandered. For women’s football in England to rest on its laurels, to bask in the glory without ensuring that this summer is the end of a beginning rather than an apex, would be a massive mistake.
The Women’s Super League begins in just over a week, with Parris lining up for Manchester United after completing a move from Arsenal on August 6, and the early signs are promising.
United will kick off their campaign at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 10. Arsenal will host Spurs at the Emirates on September 24 and Old Trafford, which was sold out for the Euros opener, will host Aston Villa in early December.
Ticket sales received a notable boost in the immediate aftermath of the Euros win, television audiences are expected to grow despite kick-off times that have received criticism and those marquee games in big arenas will command far more attention among the casual fan.
For Parris there is also a responsibility to ensure commercial growth, that sponsors are willing to invest to have their brand associated with the game, on the professional end but equally work at grassroots to improve the conveyor belt of talent.
“The most important thing is to carry on the momentum of the summer,” she says. “We have to get bodies through the turnstiles at not just WSL games but every level. We need to bring commercial partners on board because their investment will push the game on. Not just the elite level but the whole structure from grassroots to the top because grassroots is where the next generation will come from.
“That’s what we aspired to do during the summer, to inspire the next generation. That was one of our main goals. We knew winning could do that but the most important thing was to put on a performance to show the young girls you can come from grassroots and make it right to the top.”
Parris is especially keen to increase participation numbers among black girls. She was part of an expert panel, also featuring Harry Kane and Tyrone Mings, that was set up by the FA in 2020 with the express intention to boost diversity across the game.
While Mirror Football is warned before this interview that Parris does not want to answer any questions around why she, Demi Stokes and Jess Carter were the only black or mixed race players in the England squad, she is eager to stress promoting more participation among black girls remains “an obligation” for her.
“In order to inspire, they need to see role models that they are like,” she says. “This summer showed it on a massive scale but also at WSL games. It’s important we have more diversity in the sport, we want to grow it from the ground upwards. It’s a huge obligation in my mind in terms of what I want to achieve.”
Parris is speaking at a free training session run by the FA and Weetabix in the Toxteth park where she first learnt to kick a ball with Kingsley United, mixing it with the boys before eventually forming a girls’ team herself.
Around 70 girls between ages five and 11 have turned up for the session, not knowing of their surprise visitor, and when they see her she is swamped with selfie and autograph requests. “This is what we wanted,” Parris says of the increased attention. “We wanted more exposure, for the game to be seen on a global scale, for more fans to come through the turnstiles and more interest in the game. As a consequence you get more off the pitch interaction. But it’s so nice to see young girls who are star struck to see you. That’s really humbling.”
Opportunities such as these were never available to Parris growing up, her formative tale a familiar one for the current generation of stars but surely a rarity for the next generation.
“I started out playing boys’ football, the only girl in the team, so it’s great to see free sessions that allows young girls to connect and get involved in football but also to enjoy,” she says. “That’s the most important thing at this age, that enjoyment can spark something in them to say they really want to do it long-term.
“We didn’t have that when we were younger, we had to jump over so many barriers in order to continue playing. That fuels me as a player but I know on the other side there were many young players who dropped out because they didn’t feel comfortable. Now those barriers are no longer a problem.”
That she featured so rarely at Arsenal last season, making five league starts, provides further fuel at a United side that expects to close the gap on the big three of the Gunners, Chelsea and neighbours City.
But Parris laughs when it is pointed out that she may be the first Liverpool fan to have ever played for both Manchester clubs - United now, City from 2015 to ‘19 - and Everton, where she began her career as a teenager.
“Nah, the most important thing is being able to progress in my career,” she says. “When I spoke with the United staff, their plans for the future aligned with what I feel at the moment and where I am in my own career. There’s a goal to win and that’s what I want to do from September.
“Game time is paramount. It’s why we all play football, we want to be on the pitch, help the team win games. That’s where I get the most enjoyment.”
Nikita Parris is working with the nation's favourite cereal Weetabix and The FA to encourage kids to be active and make healthier choices
