Young Football Player Receives Lioness Goalie’s Gloves

almost 2 years in news

A preteen soccer goalie walked away with more than a winning feeling when she received England Women’s goalkeeper Mary Earps’ match gloves at Wembley Stadium on July 31. Footage recorded by Wai Wan shows 11-year-old Gracie Spratley standing on the sidelines of the pitch at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. England goalkeeper Mary Earps can be seen approaching and handing her gloves to a steward, who hands them to Spratley. Spratley, who said she has recently started playing goalkeeper for Southampton Women’s FC under-13s team, told Storyful in an interview that she was “well excited” to receive the gift from Earps. “It gave me a lot more confidence to see the Lionesses win the Euros,” Spratley said, “It gave us that bit more passion for women’s sports and I think it made a lot more people realize that women can play football as well as the men.” Spratley said she eventually wants to play in goal for England and that watching Earps in action during the match had inspired her. She said: “It just gave me that jolt of ‘I can do this as well,’ like, ’don’t just give up on it, you can still do it’.” The Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 at Wembley to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, the first time in 56 years that England footballers have won a major championship. Credit: Wai Wan and Rob Spratley via Storyful

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