Karen Carney believes the Euros could be a “phenomenal” moment for the women’s game in English football.
Former Three Lions midfielder Carney says the tournament has got the potential to capture the imagination of the whole country and England are good enough to win it. Carney, who won 144 caps in her England career, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity and we should get behind the team. Not see it as a pressure, embrace it and galvanise everyone to show our support.
“I can’t wait for it and I’m a former England player so I want to see them do well but generally the tournament has got so many good players. I was on the train the other day, people were reading about it in the papers, you can be in the pub and people are talking about it and those sort of conversations grow the game.
“We need to capitalise on the growth. I’m biased towards England of course and want to see them do well and win it but there’s so many amazing nations that it’s so exciting and there’s a real buzz about the tournament. You can see careers in women’s football not just for players but the whole game and sport is expanding and it’s a really exciting time. We’ve got a unique opportunity now.
“You get through the Group stage and then you’re in the quarters, if you get to the semis then suddenly everyone is thinking: ‘we can win it!’”
Former Chelsea and Birmingham star Carney, a brand ambassador for Booking.com, played - and scored - in the first Euros that England staged back in 2005 when England’s opening game at the City of Manchester Stadium attracted 29,029 fans. That was a remarkable figure but now England’s opener with Austria at Old Trafford on Wednesday is a sell-out as are the matches with Norway and Northern Ireland at Brighton and Southampton.
Carney says that shows just how far the game has come in England on the back of the Women’s Super League and she says the standard of the tournament will be sky high. She said: “I thought the last home Euros was incredible because we got a great crowd at the Etihad for the opening game. Now, we’ve got a sell-out at Old Trafford and tickets are like gold dust so that shows you how phenomenal the growth has been.
“The difference between the best and the rest is not as big. It’s levelling out now because it used to be that the teams with the bigger resources were fitter, sharper and stronger. But now everyone has that now. You can see that in the men’s games because the margins are so small. We’ve got a good team - and that helps! We’ve been to a European Championship final in 2009 and we’ve had big moments but I don’t think it’s been backed like it has now with the sponsors, the media and the backing of it.
“England are up there and that’s why it’s so important the nation gets behind the team. Give them support, not make them feel pressurised and, as a player, you really feel it when the nation are behind you and it can make the difference getting you from bronze to silver, from silver to gold. For opposition, no-one wants to play in front of a host crowd, cheering the team on. As a home player you want that, as the opposing team you don’t want it. We have to get that across.”
Carney was talking as research from Booking.com showed more than eight in ten England fans (85%) say the growth of the women’s game has made traveling to play professional football in top leagues around the world a realistic career ambition for women and girls.
