Lionesses hero Keira Walsh is to be given the freedom of her hometown of Rochdale. The 25-year-old was one of the stars of England's historic Euro 2022 victory and was named player of the match in the final against Germany.
Her performances help her secure a world record transfer from Manchester City to Barcelona following the tournament. To mark her achievements Rochdale council bosses have now announced she is to be honoured with the freedom of the borough.
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Council leader Neil Emmott said: "We are so proud of Keira and this award will be thoroughly deserved. Freedom of the borough is only awarded to local people who have made a significant contribution to the locality or have achieved something outstanding, and Keira really has performed exceptionally well, she is a role model.
"She’s an inspiration to us all and I hope Keira and the girls will have a lasting impact on women's sport."
Keira was brought up in Syke in Rochdale, and attended Healey Primary School. She first played football with her dad on a field opposite her house, later joining Pearson Juniors in her hometown before being signed by Blackburn Rovers.
In an interview with the FA last month Keira told how she was the only girl on her team when she first started playing. She said: "I started playing grassroots football around the age of five or six.
"My best friend at primary school, his dad started a team in Rochdale called Pearson Juniors and they had a lot of teams all the way through. He coached my age group because of my best friend playing and I went down with him and it is all I ever really knew, playing football with the lads.
"I was the only girl on my team and there was a girl on the team a year older than me. It was nice that I wasn’t the only girl in the whole club and she was a really good player as well, so it was easy to have someone to look up to."
And she told of her pride at winning major honours for her country. She said: "As a kid, I never thought I would have played for England Women’s senior team – I didn’t even know there was a women’s team when I was younger.
"So to be able to represent my country and win a Euros, it is so hard to put it into words what it means."
The freedom of the borough will be bestowed at a meeting of the council at Number One Riverside at a date to be confirmed.
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