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      in Soccer

      Jordan Henderson quitting Saudi soccer doesn’t surprise me — I sat in empty stadiums in 40C heat and was bored to tears

      by

      DRENCHED with sweat, Jordan Henderson looked utterly exhausted as he trudged to the touchline to grab yet another swig from a water bottle.The England international and former Liverpool captain seemed out on his feet after giving his all as he has done countless times for club and country.
      Jordan Henderson seemed out of his feet playing for Saudi minnows Al-EttifaqCredit: Getty
      The Sun’s Chief Foreign Correspondent Nick Parker shares his thoughts on why Saudi football is so off-puttingCredit: Ian Whittaker – Commissioned by The Sun
      But this was not a World Cup epic watched by millions — rather the harsh reality of Henderson’s debut, in 35C heat, for Saudi Arabian Pro League minnows Al-Ettifaq.
      It was not yet half time when Henderson — who with Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019, the Premier League the next year and the FA Cup in 2022 — took his fourth water break in a ramshackle, half-full stadium unfit for even an English League One tie.
      The midfielder was playing in front of just 13,000 fans, under new club coach and fellow former Liverpool and England star Steven Gerrard last August — and even then the writing was on the wall for all to see.
      Now, with Henderson tonight signing off a move to Dutch giants Ajax, after just six months in Saudi, he is the first of a host of crazy-money signings from the Premier League and other European top-flights who are expected to quit the desert kingdom.
      READ MORE BEAUTIFUL GAME
      A source told me: “Jordan knows he has made a terrible mistake and stands to lose a lot of money.
      “But he can’t face another day in Saudi. He has found the heat intolerable and the quality of the football is, frankly, beneath his talents and won’t keep him in the England reckoning.”
      I feel his pain. Watching his debut in Saudi was one of the weirdest experiences of my 35 years covering football games for The Sun.
      Ahead of the 9pm kick-off, daytime temperatures had topped 40C but the real killer was stifling 60 per cent humidity.
      Most read in Football
      I was soaked in sweat two minutes after stepping out of my taxi — and I was just a spectator.
      Even locals accustomed to the heat were tearing up cardboard boxes to create makeshift fans as play began.
      Having experienced the World Cup glitz in neighbouring Qatar just months earlier, my arrival at the new Saudi home of two Liverpool legends was a shock.
      The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Stadium was built in 1973 and needs more than a lick of paint — it needs air-con.
      It seats 26,000 but was only half full, despite the pre-match promise of Cristiano Ronaldo and former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane lining up for the opponents Al-Nassr.
      The drabness of Al-Ettifaq’s laboured 2-1 victory, and former Manchester United favourite Ronaldo failing to show for the game, was only made worse by the multi-use stadium’s running track keeping fans remote from the action.
      The star signings on show must have been baffled by the tiny Saudi fan base.
      Women in burkas, men in Arab robes and others in jeans and T-shirts watched from the sweltering stands, where swathes of faded blue plastic seats lay empty.
      A repeat of this when Saudi Arabia hosts the 2034 World Cup would be a disaster — fear of which could lead to a temporary lifting of the Gulf state’s booze ban, to woo more fans.
      But it is not just the heat, and tiny crowds, triggering the footballers’ exodus from Saudi.
      The Islamic kingdom’s strict cultural code is also to blame for this.
      Boozing is banned and punishable by flogging, while players’ Wags are not legally allowed out in public alone — and women in Saudi have only been allowed to drive since 2018.
      Henderson, 33, more than tripled his Liverpool salary, to a reported £700,000 a week, when he moved to Saudi last summer in the twilight of his career.
      Gerrard, 43, landed a £15.2million-a-year deal — after he was axed as Aston Villa boss then ignored by even Championship clubs.
      But the fanfare around the pair’s unveiling at the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Stadium looked staged, fake and doomed.
      The sweltering heat, as well as extremely strict cultural codes, have left Saudi stadiums full of empty seats during gamesCredit: Ian Whittaker – Commissioned by The Sun
      The fanfare around Steven Gerrard’s £15.2m deal with Al-Ettifaq looked staged, fake and doomedCredit: Reuters
      Within weeks, Henderson — used to playing before 50,000-strong crowds at Anfield and on glittering World Cup stages — turned out in front of just 610 fans for one Al-Ettifaq game.
      The unhappy playmaker is now bailing out to Ajax.
      He was so desperate quit joyless Saudi that he has reportedly agreed to a 75 per cent pay cut to move to Amsterdam.
      He played just 19 times for former Reds team-mate Gerrard and has now torn up his three-year contract with the club and walked out of an Al-Ettifaq training camp in Dubai.
      His Saudi wages would have been tax-free had he stayed for two years.
      But he faces a £7million tax bill if he returns to the UK, thanks to HMRC rules and having spent less than a year working abroad.
      He is far from alone in wanting out, though.
      My source added: “A lot of top players brought in at huge expense from the Premier League and Europe feel the same — and Jordan won’t be the first to leave.”
      Al-Nassr signing Cristiano Ronaldo, 38, was the first megastar to move to Saudi two years ago on a ridiculous £3.4million a week.
      He was followed by Brazil showman Neymar, 31, who joined Al-Hilal on £2.5million a week, from French club PSG.
      Cristiano Ronaldo was the first megastar to move to Saudi, on a ridiculous £3.4m a weekCredit: Instagram @cristiano
      Ronaldo was soon followed by Brazilian showman NeymarCredit: Getty
      The preening ex-Barcelona striker also demanded three supercars for himself, four Mercedes G Wagons for his entourage, a Mercedes van with a driver on 24-hour standby, and an army of staff.
      Other imports have included Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante, Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez, Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitro-vic, Wolves’ Ruben Neves and former Celtic winger Jota.
      But with the January transfer window now open, many are fed up and desperate to turn tail.
      Firmino is being linked to Fulham, Jota to Tottenham and Benzema to Chelsea.
      Meanwhile legendary Liverpool goal machine Robbie Fowler’s spell as boss of a Saudi second-tier club has ended after four months, following an apparent spat with management.
      Ex-England ace Fowler, 48, was inexplicably axed despite the club being on a winning run.
      He is believed to have received a large severance payout and has not spoken about his exit, which came weeks before Henderson blew the whistle on Al-Ettifaq.
      Henderson’s game in front of 610 fans was the fifth-lowest attendance of the flop Pro League this season, the tiniest being 257, and comes despite the billions invested by the Saudi government in a brazen bid to “sportswash” its appalling human rights record.
      But the sheikhs lavishing oil wealth on the lacklustre league are unlikely to be put off after greedy Fifa chiefs gifted them the 2034 World Cup.
      READ MORE SUN STORIES
      A Saudi soccer source said: “Players will come and go but Saudi Arabians love football and we are in for the long haul.
      “We have the resources and will do what it takes to make our league and World Cup a great success.” More

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      in Motorsport

      I was an F1 heiress with a jet in back garden but lost it all… I ended up on £60 benefits & got rejected from McDonald’s

      by

      AS the daughter of a British Formula 1 legend, Christianne Ireland lived a life few could imagine.With a private plane in the back garden of her mansion home, she was driven around in Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce cars, attended a private boarding school, had her hair cut by Vidal Sassoon and had a wardrobe of designer clothes.
      Christianne Ireland is an F1 heiress but lost everythingCredit: Chris Balcombe
      Dad Innes Ireland won the US Grand Prix in 1961Credit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      Her dad Innes Ireland won the US Grand Prix in 1961 and counted racing icons Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and F1 team founder Frank Williams as his closest friends.
      Her incredible upbringing should have been the springboard for a life of success.
      But Christianne’s world came crashing down after she became an alcoholic, went through two divorces and her dad failed to leave her money in his will. 
      By 2016, she was on benefits of around £60 a week, living in a homeless hostel and was even turned down for a cleaning job at McDonald’s.
      Read More Features
      She describes her astonishing riches-to-rags story as “like falling out of an ivory tower”.
      Christianne, now 65, says her life was saved when she started volunteering at an allotment and she has rebuilt a future as a support manager at a charity called Unity which helps the most vulnerable in society.
      She said: “When I think back on the life I had it seems crazy.  
      “My childhood was bizarre, bonkers. We lived in a Grade One-listed Georgian mansion house with its own stream-fed lake and a miles messenger plane parked out the back.
      Most read in Motorsport
      She grew up in a Georgian mansion house with its own private lakeCredit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      Innes was pals with F1 legends like Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and team founder Frank WilliamsCredit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      “They were very heady days. I got a pony and trap as a Christmas present aged five and I remember Frank Williams and F1 racer Charlie Crichton-Stuart coming to paint it one weekend.
      “We always had wonderful exotic cars parked outside and we used to go to the village in the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO built for Stirling Moss, which later sold for £27million.
      “He never got to race it after his terrible accident that ended his racing career but I used to get into the passenger seat, my mum would shove the chocolate Labrador in the footwell and we’d go shopping.
      “When I fell out of the ivory tower years later and had to clean up my drinking, I’d look at beggars on the street and think ‘do I want to be one of them, because I have that option, or do I want to get off my backside and do something to get myself sorted?’”
      Cursed by fame
      Christianne’s story is full of twists and turns and a long battle with the bottle which left her homeless with just a suitcase full of expensive clothes – remnants of her past life.
      Her dad Innes was a former paratrooper and apprentice engineer with Rolls-Royce who started racing in an old three-litre Bentley when he was 22 after being left the car by a dead relative.
      After winning the Motor Sports Brooklyn Memorial Trophy in 1957 he joined the Lotus team, taking part in 50 Grand Prixs.
      He was a larger-than-life character who, according to a rival team boss, “lived without sense, without an analyst, and provoked astonishment and affection from everyone”.
      He married Christianne’s mum Norma Thomas, a Scarborough school teacher, three years before his career took off but the trappings of fame cost Innes his marriage.
      An exhausted Innes trying to push his Lotus 18 up the Sainte Devote hill at the Monaco Grand Prix, 1960Credit: Getty
      Step mother Eddie, step brother Jamie, Innes and and Christianne around age 16 at the backCredit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      Christianne said: “My father’s success was a double-edged sword.
      “He was travelling to a lot of races which took him away from my mother and the family and it elevated him into a jet-set world. 
      “ My mother wasn’t really kitted out for that life. I think she was quite happy with the little life they had, it was very suburban and nothing flash and I think she would have preferred that.
      “When the money came on board we had a big mansion house called Downton in Powys, Wales, with an airstrip out the back. Dad got a private plane and really enjoyed the lifestyle but mum was often left rambling around alone in this big home.”
      Christianne says her mum struggled to cope and she was sent to a convent  boarding school just before her fifth birthday which she “hated” because “we weren’t from a strict Catholic family, dad was becoming famous and I was the oddball there”.
      When she next returned home, Christianne’s mother had gone and they never really reconciled.
      She said: “My dad got custody of me and I didn’t dare ask what had happened. I remember saying Goodbye when I went to boarding school and that was the last I saw of her at that time.
      “Dad wasn’t the type to sit you down and talk about what happened and a lot was shoved under the carpet.
      “There was a lot of hurt and I would later use that as a ‘poor me’ excuse to drink.”
      Battle with the bottle
      By the time her dad retired in 1967 to become a journalist for Autocar magazine, he had remarried and the family moved to London where Christianne would have her hair cut by Vidal Sasoon.
      She said: “I would go home from school whenever dad was around and we did have some wonderful times. I watched him race at Le Mans for one of my birthdays and I was taken to designer shops where I was allowed to buy lots of beautiful French clothes.
      “In London we shopped in Harrods and Fortnum and Mason. I had lovely things, but in hindsight I’d have swapped it to spend more quality time with my father.”
      Christianne was sent to private girls boarding school Oxenfoord Castle in Midlothian where she says she developed into a “rebellious teenager”. By now her dad had remarried.
      “I would do anything to shock my father and, looking back, I think I must have been angry.
      “I’d wear dreadful make-up, hippy afghan coats smelling of patchouli oil and bring home unsuitable boyfriends. I had a best friend whose father had also been a driving racer and we used to go to Annabel’s nightclub with our fathers’ cards and dance on the tables.”
      Christianne has taken up racing herself nowCredit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      Innes in Monaco in 1960Credit: Getty
      When she was 20, Christianne married farmer John Gee and had three children Charles, now 45, Sasha, 43, and Jeffrey, 41.
      The couple married at Welford Park in Newbury, the home of C4’s Bake Off, in a lavish ceremony where she says dad Innes told her: “Right darling, that’s the last big thing I do for you.”
      Christianne says she started drinking copious bottles of wine throughout her marriage, adding: “My poor husband didn’t know how to cope with it, none of it was his fault.
      “I had no instruction manual and my marriage failed.”
      When her dad died of cancer at a rented cottage near Welford, Newbury, in 1993, Christianne was left out of his will.
      Eventually her relationship with her father’s third wife, ex-model Jean Haworth, became estranged.
      Christianne went on to meet Tristram, her second husband, who she wed in 1995, at an AA meeting in what she describes as a “typical cliche.”
      “He was very smartly dressed and I thought ‘oh he’s got money’ while I think he probably thought I had. Neither of us had a pot to p*** in,” she laughs.
      Christianne volunteered with the local AA and went on to speak to prisoners in Broadmoor, the psychiatric hospital which has housed lags like Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and four-times killer Robert Maudsley.
      She said: “I wasn’t allowed near people like that but I spoke to people with mental health issues who had issues with drinking or drugs.
      “I was terrified going in there for the first time but came across people who had committed terrible crimes when they’d been on drink or drugs and blacked out, and I thought ‘there by the grace of God go I.’
      “One 6ft 4in man murdered his mother with an axe and a woman who set her house on fire with her family in it. Neither of them had any recollection of what had happened.” 
      Rock bottom
      Nine years into her marriage, Christianne said she started secretly drinking again after moving to Gloucestershire and becoming unhappy.
      She said: “I’d do a bit of social drinking but most of it was in secret.
      “I was socially a bit anxious and I needed to drink before we went anywhere. If it wasn’t vodka it would be half a bottle of wine before stepping out the door and the tolerance started to go up.
      “At its worst I’d secretly down half a bottle of brandy.”
      She and husband Simon, who Christianne says “didn’t know how to help me”, broke up after nine years of marriage and he moved to New Zealand.
      She said: “Over the next five years I went through all my savings, sold some jewellery to live off and tried to find jobs, but I wasn’t in the right headspace.
      “I even tried for a cleaning job at McDonald’s but was turned down.  My children weren’t able to help me financially or put me up.
      “They never actually asked me to stop drinking, because nobody should ever ask anyone to stop. Instead they distanced themselves from me.
      “Eventually I moved to Camberley in Surrey when I got a job in a clothes shop for a couple of years, but then the drinking caught up with me.”
      Christianne found working at an allotment helped her turn her life aroundCredit: Chris Balcombe
      In 2015, Christianne went to live in London to help support a distant relative but it didn’t work out and her daughter advised her to make herself homeless to get a flat.
      She said: “By this time I was on benefits of about £60 a week. I thought maybe I should try the Southampton area because I’d lived there for a little while when I was younger.
      “From there the local authority sent me to Romsey and then to Andover where I was given a crash room in a hostel.”
      Christianne spent eight weeks in a hostel where she had to sleep in a single bed in the dining room.
      She said: “All I had was my suitcase. It was quite large with some of my best clothes in it but that was it.
      “You had to be out of the hostel most of the day so it was quite hard. There were quite a few drug addicts there and I’m not very streetwise.
      “The local authority eventually got me a flat but I had no furniture for three weeks and just slept on the floor.”
      Brighter future
      Christianne started to volunteer at a charity called Unity, and a locally-run allotment – a move she credits with saving her life.
      She said: “When I started digging, clearing, growing, pruning it felt like I was getting rid of debris, not just from the allotment but from my life.
      “On the days I wanted to drink I’d go there instead and I slowly started feeling better.
      “I found my local drug and rehabilitation services and signed up with them. I did a course called smart recovery for three months and it gave me strategies to cope with my drinking.
      “I realised it was an ability to cope with life on life’s terms and I was given a toolbox of strategies to help me cope.”
      Now Christianne works as a voluntary sector support manager for Unity and helps oversee a food pantry project.
      She has also taken up racing herself after joining the Brighton and Hove Moto Sports Club, taking part in speed trials and hill climbs.
      READ MORE SUN STORIES
      She said: “I don’t regret all those things that happened because they brought me to where I am now. I’m like a snake shedding its skin.
      “I’ve had an amazing, crazy life.” More

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      in Soccer

      Premier League’s cheapest stadiums for pie and pint revealed with Man Utd second behind newly-promoted team

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      THE cheapest and most expensive pies and pints at Premier League stadiums have been revealed. Tucking into a pie and grabbing a pint at the football is a long-standing tradition in English football culture.
      The most expensive and cheapest pies at Premier League stadiums have been revealedCredit: Getty
      The cost of the combo at different stadiums ranges from £11.30 to £6.20Credit: Alamy
      But over the years it has become a great financial burden for fans at some stadiums around the country.
      According to data compiled by Betting.com, this includes £5 pies and £6.30 pints at one ground down to £3 pies and pints elsewhere.
      Indeed, the most expensive pint and pie combo at a stadium will set you back £11.30, while the cheapest costs a far more economical £6.20.
      But where do each of the 20 Premier League teams rank in the table?
      READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
      Kickstarting with the most expensive pies in the division, you will not find a pricier one than at West Ham’s London Stadium, which charges a staggering £5 for one of the savoury snacks.
      Hopping from East to North London, there is only a 20p gap between West Ham pie prices and those at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, while another post-2000 build in Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium charges £4.70 a pop.
      Three more London clubs come in joint fourth with Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, Fulham’s Craven Cottage and Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park all charging £4.50.
      Old Trafford is next with Manchester United charging punters £4.20 per pie, which is 10p more than Brighton’s Amex Stadium.
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      CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
      There are only three other grounds in the top flight that hit the £4 threshold for pies, those being Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium, Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
      Similarly, three venues – Luton’s Kenilworth Road, Newcastle’s St. James’ Park and Everton’s Goodison Park – charge £3.90 for a pie.
      Midlands outfits Wolves and Aston Villa come in next with fans paying £3.60 at Molineux and Villa Park respectively.
      The gong for the third cheapest pie in the top flight is shared by Liverpool and Sheffield United, with Anfield and Bramall Lane charging fans £3.40 for a pie.
      The second-cheapest pie can be found at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground for £3.30.
      While the most pie-eater-friendly venue is Turf Moor, with Burnley charging fans just £3.
      London clubs make up five of the six most expensive football grounds to buy a pie
      So now we have looked at pies, what about something to wash them down with?
      Well, it would come as no surprise that your wallet would not thank you for going to a game in London, with each of the top four most expensive pints all being located in the capital.
      And once again we find ourselves at West Ham and Arsenal when looking at the most expensive pints in the division, with the two sides charging a whopping £6.30 for a pint.
      West London sides Chelsea and Fulham are next on the cost list with fans charged £5.70 and £5.50 respectively.
      There is then a 30p drop in the prices at Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, with £5.10 Spurs and £5 Palace being the final clubs who charge £5 or more.
      Moving up the line again we find the Toon Army pay £4.90 per pint with Man City fans then being charged £4.60.
      Man Utd and Sheffield Utd are unmatched in terms of pint cost
      Fans in the city of Liverpool of both red and blue persuasions come in next, with the Toffees charging 15p more than the £4.40 the Reds pay for their drink at Anfield.
      Four grounds charge a rounded £4 for pints, those being at Brentford, Brighton, Luton and Wolves.
      Taking third in the ranking for cheapest pints are pie champions Burnley, who charge £3.20 per pint.
      But the joint winners of the low-cost pint contest are the Red Devils and Blades, with pints costing just £3 at the respective stadiums.
      Across the 92 English Football League clubs, however, the cheapest pie put the Premier League to shame, though the same cannot be said for pints.
      Of the data collected, the cheapest pie in the Football League costs just £2.50.
      This wallet-friendly pie charge can be found at four stadiums, three of which are in League One.
      Read more on The Sun
      These are Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road, Stevenage’s Broadhall Way, Port Vale’s Vale Park and League Two’s Crown Ground, the home of Accrington.
      In pint terms, you will actually not find a better rate than the £3 at Old Trafford and Bramall Lane, with only Morecambe’s Globe Arena in League Two charging fans an equivalent rate. More

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      in Soccer

      New Netflix doc follows Messi, Ronaldo and Bale during Qatar World Cup – with bitter toxic feud laid bare

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      THEY are the men who held the hopes of nations in their hands.From Thiago Silva to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to England’s Harry Kane and Wales hero Gareth Bale, it is the dream of every country’s captain to win football’s World Cup.
      Netflix docuseries Captains Of The World takes a look at the pressure put on the men tasked with leading their teams to victory – like Argentina’s Lionel MessiCredit: Getty
      Most have their hopes crushed – but the winners take their place in history.
      Now new Netflix docuseries, Captains Of The World, takes a closer look at the pressure put on the handful of men tasked with leading their teams to victory.
      The six-part show follows captains and coaches during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
      We look at how some of football’s most famous names fought for their country’s pride in a bid to lift the famous gold trophy.
      READ MORE WORLD CUP
      LIONEL MESSI
      Argentina
      RANKED one of the world’s greatest players, Lionel Messi dreamed of emulating his hero Diego Maradona.
      He missed his idol, after Maradona died in November 2020 of a heart attack.
      He said: “It’s really weird not having him here, not seeing him in the stands, not seeing people going crazy when he shows up.
      Most read in Football
      “He made everyone feel something ­special. This is my last chance to achieve my greatest dream, but this is a World Cup and it’s really tough.”
      Argentina went through to the semis after an explosive win in a penalty shootout against the Netherlands.
      The match was marked by tempers boiling over in an ongoing feud between Messi and Dutch head coach Louis van Gaal.
      The pair shared bad blood over van Gaal’s treatment of Messi’s mentor and Argentine footballing icon Juan Roman Riquelme when the Dutchman managed Barcelona.
      Messi was left fuming after van Gaal “disrespected” his team by claiming the play-maker didn’t contribute to the game when the other side had the ball.
      After scoring Argentina’s second goal, Messi channelled Riquelme’s mocking victory celebration before calling Netherlands goal scorer Wout Weghorst an idiot in a bad-tempered post-match outburst in the tunnel.
      Messi said: “It was a really tough game. We were facing a great team. We have a very good group of players. They know how to fight when the going gets tough.
      “They (the Netherlands) talked a lot before the game and I didn’t like it.
      “The player in the number 19 shirt (Weghorst) kept provoking us. Bumping into us, and saying things from the start.
      “I don’t think that behaviour belongs in football.
      “I was really angry before the match because a coach like van Gaal . . .  I felt he had disrespected the Argentinian team.”
      Messi fulfilled his World Cup mission after leading Argentina to victory over France in a spectacular final.
      He scored twice in the 3-3 match before scoring again from the spot as Argentina won on penalties.
      He said: “It’s very hard to explain how you feel at that moment. All that energy.”
      Asked if he had any advice for his young­er self, he said: “Enjoy football, keep doing what you do, because that’s what matters the most and the rest will come.”
      GARETH BALE
      Wales
      BALE led Wales to their first World Cup since 1958 and told how much-loved former manager Gary Speed, who took his own life in 2011, aged 42, still inspires the nation.
      On reaching Qatar he said: “The proudest thing you can do as an athlete is to represent your country.
      Gareth Bale led Wales to their first World Cup since 1958Credit: Netflix
      “To be playing for Wales and taking them to the World Cup, for it to become a reality is surreal.
      “Whenever I meet up with Wales it feels like home.
      “I know everyone sees that I’m quiet, but I like to joke around and get people going. It’s about us as a team, trying to do as best we can.”
      He said the team still talk about Gary Speed, adding: “We still speak about him. Everyone involved will tell you how grateful the whole nation is.
      “If he hadn’t come in at that moment, we might not be where we are now, we might not have had that foundation built for us to really kick on and achieve what we’ve achieved.”
      HARRY KANE
      England
      TOP scorer Kane went up against his Spurs team-mate Hugo Lloris in the quarter-final.
      Kane missed a penalty which saw England crash out when they lost 2-1 to France.
      Harry Kane explains that it’s always important to control your emotions during a tournamentCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      But the England talisman never lost hope until the last moment.
      He said: “We’re level-headed, we know what we need to do to go far in this tournament. It’s important you control your emotions.
      “We’re not just here to reach the quarter-final and we have to believe if we want to go all the way.”
      On penalties he said: “I like to have the ball in my hands, stay calm.
      “I always kind of know where I’m going to put the penalty, focus on that.”
      Lloris says of Kane’s miss: “That’s football.”
      England boss Gareth Southgate said: “England always think they should be winning. History would tell us that’s not really the case.”
      CRISTIANO RONALDO
      Portugal
      RONALDO hoped his fifth World Cup finals would see him get his hands on the trophy at last.
      He got off to a rocky start after it was rumoured he threatened to quit after being benched for two games.
      Ronaldo says that he’s felt the same pressure as everCredit: Netflix
      Although he made appearances as a substitute, it didn’t prevent Portugal from being beaten by Morocco in one of the big shocks.
      He said: “Everyone wants to win but there can only be one winner.
      “If you asked me if I finished my career today, would I be happy? Yes of course! But a World Cup win could be fun.”
      Of his shredded dreams after a quarter-final exit, he said: “Some people like me, some people don’t, but I’m proud of everything I’ve done. It wouldn’t be fair for me to ask for more.
      “I don’t chase records, records chase me. Pressure? Every player feels pressure. There’s been pressure ever since I left Madeira aged 11.”
      THIAGO SILVA
      Brazil
      AN emotional Silva told how he was left “hurt” after pre-tournament favourites Brazil were knocked out by Croatia in the quarter-finals.
      But he said he had already won the biggest battle of his life after winning a fight for survival against tuberculosis aged 21 in 2005.
      Silva tells of being ‘hurt’ after Brazil’s loss to Croatia in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finalsCredit: Getty
      The Chelsea defender said: “People say Thiago is weak for having emotions. I wouldn’t have got where I am today by being mentally weak.
      “I had to be strong in one of the biggest battles of my life. I left Brazil when I was young . . . I trained and trained with a painful chest.
      “The doctor held the X-ray up and you could see there was a huge hole in my lung.
      “If we had waited any longer for diagnosis there would be no cure.
      Read more on The Sun
      “Going through tuberculosis left me with scars that will never heal.
      “When people say I’ve won a lot of ­trophies, the biggest achievement of my life was overcoming that.” More

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      in Soccer

      We live next to Prem ground… ‘haunting’ problem keeps us up but it’s NOT the fans & there’s an extra issue on Boxing Day

      by

      WHEN you imagine what it’s like to live next to a football ground, you’d expect the cheering (and jeering) crowds to get on neighbours’ nerves.But locals next to Boscombe’s Vitality Stadium, home to AFC Bournemouth, say it’s a different type of nuisance that’s getting under their skin. 
      AFC Bournemouth’s ground is the second-smallest stadium in the Premier LeagueCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Andrew Martin says locals are annoyed by a ‘whistling’ soundCredit: Chris Balcombe
      One resident told The Sun there is a “haunting whistling sound” – allegedly caused by one of the club’s lights – that is keeping them up at night, which he likened to “a jet taking off”.
      NHS worker Andrew Martin, 56, explained: “When Bournemouth was promoted they needed new lights for the HD broadcast on Sky, and since then it hasn’t stopped.
      “On a normal day the noise makes it sound like our house is haunted, and on a bad day it’s like a jet is taking off.
      “It used to keep us up at night but we’ve had to get used to it now.
      READ MORE LIFE’S A PITCH
      “I have a real beef with the stadium about the lights – I looked it up and I believe it’s an easy fix.”
      We visited Boscombe in Bournemouth as part of our Life’s A Pitch series, which documents struggles faced by those who live near sports stadiums.
      Other locals told us parking can be a nightmare, heavy traffic means two-minute trips can take nearly an hour, and nuisance seagulls and “jobsworth” parking wardens are a menace. 
      A stone’s throw from the stadium on Middleton Gardens, Clare Murgatroyd, 38, told us she hates the “whistling lights” too. 
      Most read in Football
      Claire Murgatroyd says her partner struggles to sleep due to noise from the stadiumCredit: Chris Balcombe
      Middleton Gardens runs alongside the Bournemouth’s football clubCredit: Chris Balcombe
      The software sales worker said: “It drives my partner mental, but that’s because he’s OCD and a bad sleeper.
      “It’s not bad during the summer, but when it’s stormy weather you hear it a lot.
      “It’s a bit irritating and I don’t know why they can’t cap the ends of the light to stop the sound.
      “A lot of people moaned but they didn’t do anything about it.”
      It’s not the only noise issue that Clare’s noticed in her 12 years on the estate – which has private parking and is around 10 metres from the ground. 
      She said: “There are nesting seagulls that land on the stadium. They are not aggressive but they are really noisy and there are hundreds of them. It does my head in.”
      Gulls weren’t the only unexpected visitors. Clare recalled spotting football fans standing on a nearby wall to try to watch the game from outside the stadium in previous years.
      She said: “We called them ‘the wall dwellers’. They could see through a gap in the stadium if they stood on the wall.
      “There were a lot of them when Bournemouth played Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly, they all wanted to get a glimpse of Ronaldo.”
      Locals claim the ‘haunting’ sound comes from a lightCredit: Alamy
      Locals say parking on match days can be an issue with journeys taking much longer than they shouldCredit: PA:Press Association
      Aside from that, Clare likes living in the area and believes it’s “probably quieter than living next to a road… apart from on match days”.
      Andrew has lived on Thistlebarrow Road, which runs alongside Vitality Stadium, for 15 years and claimed some residents have taken extreme measures to deal with “thoughtless” football fans.
      He said: “We’ve had people phone the police when their driveways have been blocked and they will send someone to take the cars away. 
      “It can be a nightmare trying to get in and out, too.
      “Once we got stuck trying to get home from the pub and it took three-quarters of an hour to make a trip that takes two minutes to drive.”
      Andrew’s wife Laura, 45, said she now manages her life around the club’s matches, having battled “standstill gridlock traffic that can last over an hour”.
      Smashed glass
      Down the road Lucy Scott, 26, who works at a drugs and alcohol charity, admitted being apprehensive about the noise before moving there in June 2022.
      But she was “pleasantly surprised” by the lack of disturbance, which she jokingly attributes to “Bournemouth not scoring often”. 
      Her biggest gripe is with rubbish and broken bottles littering the floor around the stadium after matches.
      Lucy said: “It’s always in the same place.
      “It’s where the fans walk through the gate.
      “I think their bottles are smashed there because they can’t take them into the ground.
      “When I take my dog for a walk it’s annoying because there is a lot of smashed glass after the game. I wish the club would do more about that.”
      Lucy Scott is annoyed by broken glass around the stadiumCredit: Chris Balcombe
      Several other neighbours complained about littering, including Andrew, who said he’s started putting his bins on the street to encourage boozers to ditch cans and bottles there instead.
      He said: “You used to come out to find lots of beer bottles and cans on or over our wall, but they are getting better at putting them in the bin now.” 
      Landlord Lee Matthews, 64, believes more should be done to solve the littering problem, but said he has seen attempts by the club to reduce it.
      “You do get the odd carton, can and bottle in the hedgerows,” he added. “It’s not great. I shouldn’t have to put up with it, but you do.
      “There’s also broken glass, but it’s just something you accept.
      “After match days they should send a few more people around to get rid of the rubbish generated by the club.”
      Lin and Ray Allen, 73 and 75, who have lived on Thistlebarrow Road for 38 years, tell us living near the stadium is much better than it used to be.
      Lin tells us: “Going back years ago, we used to have beer cans and bottles left behind a lot but not as much since we’ve been in the Premier League.”
      Retiree Mark Elson, 55, said the stadium’s lights were “so bright” that he moved from his front bedroom to one at the back of his house to escape it.
      He said: “When I’m in the front two rooms it’s very bright.
      “The club’s sign is all lit up at night. I think they turn it off at about 1 o’clock some mornings. 
      “I sleep at the back of my house now so I’m far away from it, but whenever visitors stay with me they always complain.
      “I guess I need to get better blinds than I have at the moment.” 
      Mark Elson moved into his back bedroom to escape the stadium’s bright lightsCredit: Chris Balcombe
      Boxing Day blight
      On weekdays, Thistlebarrow Road and some of the nearby streets have strict parking conditions that state no one can park there from 11am until 12pm and 2pm until 3pm.
      Some residents said this causes problems for Boxing Day fixtures when they fall on a weekday and Bournemouth are playing at home.
      Andrew said parking wardens “have a field day” because people wrongly assume they can park on the street without consequence.
      He explained: “You will suddenly see 10 parking wardens out there. It’s just a cash cow for them because people forget they can still get a ticket. 
      “If Bournemouth are playing on Boxing Day, not only will people who go to the game and park on the street get a parking ticket, but also visiting family members if they park on the street, too. 
      “It does get a bit silly really. It was much better when they used to put cones at the top of the road to block it off.”
      Parking payday
      Alice Neale charges cars £10 to park on her driveway on match daysCredit: Chris Balcombe
      While some are annoyed by the parking restrictions, some entrepreneurial locals see it as an easy way to turn a quick profit.
      At least 10 rent out their driveways to fans and visitors online; we found the most someone charges is £22.50 for nearly six hours.
      Andrew said he lets his drive to “some rich guy” for the whole season for £200.
      There’s also retiree Alice Neale, 80, who proudly waves her makeshift wood and cardboard sign offering £10 parking on match days. 
      The resident of 47 years told us: “I can get four cars on my drive so I can make £40 on a Saturday just from people parking.
      “I’m slowly building up clientele from far and away.
      “On match days I normally put up the sign outside and stand around sweeping or do a bit of gardening and people approach me. 
      “When Manchester United came down I charged a minibus £40 to park.
      “It tends to happen more often in the summertime but it’s a little bit of extra cash.” 
      Unsurprisingly many residents in the area are die-hard “Cherries” fans, but for locals watching the games from their living rooms, there’s an annoying twist.
      Mark said: “You can normally hear if our opponents have scored before it comes on the TV. There’s a good 10 to 15 seconds lag.”
      Many of the gardens on Thistlebarrow Road face the stadiumCredit: Chris Balcombe
      Alice pointed out she doesn’t mind the stadium being an occasionally noisy neighbour because she doesn’t have anyone living behind her.
      “They only play 19 matches at home and within a few hours it’s quiet again, so it doesn’t really bother me,” she said.
      “It’s much better than having neighbours with barbeques who have summer parties and play music all the time.”
      Councillor Mike Cox, Portfolio Holder for Finance at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, said there was a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TRRO) to prevent on-street parking on specified roads close to the football stadium.
      He told us: “Irresponsible parking can create unsafe conditions on our roads and has an impact on our communities and residents.
      Read more on The Sun
      “This matchday TTRO has been produced in conjunction with the Police and the football club. It seeks to keep these roads free from parked vehicles both for the safety of those accessing the stadium on foot and in case emergency access is needed.
      “Temporary signs are erected on the street to publicise this on match days, as well as ‘No Parking’ cones which are put out by the football club.”
      Lin and Ray Allen, who live in Thistlebarrow Road where their garden backs onto the groundCredit: Chris Balcombe More

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      in Motorsport

      Inside Michael Schumacher’s decade-long recovery from ‘desperately cruel’ ski crash as brother shares devastating update

      by

      IT was a sunny Alpine morning as Michael Schumacher and his son Mick emerged, ten years ago this week, from their luxury chalet ready to take on the mountains.For a man who had been the king of speed in Formula One, the ski slopes offered the greatest racing driver of his generation another chance of an exhilarating adrenaline rush.
      It’s been 10 years since Formula One champion Michael Schumacher’s devastating skiing accidentCredit: AFP
      Michael was left in a coma for 250 days after the accidentCredit: AFP
      An accomplished skier, the retired seven-times world champion, 44, and his 14-year-old son set off on the Combe de Saulire ski run in the exclusive French  resort of Meribel.
      Footage from the German driver’s helmet camera revealed he was not travelling at excessive speed for his abilities yet, moments later, his skis struck a rock partly concealed beneath fresh snow and catapulted him 3.5 metres (11.5ft) head first on to a second boulder.
      The impact of the collision, shortly after 11am on December 29, 2013 was so intense that it split his helmet in two and left him in a coma for 250 days.
      Now his younger brother Ralf has admitted the F1 legend may never completely recover, despite receiving advanced medical treatment.
      read more on Schumacher
      He said: ““Nothing is like it used to be.”
      Ralf, who also raced and won six F1 Grands Prix, told German outlet Bild this week: “Life is unfair at times.
      “That day held a lot of bad luck. This fate has changed our family.”
      He added: “Michael wasn’t only my brother.
      Most read in Motorsport
      “When we were kids he was also my coach and mentor. He taught me every- thing about kart racing.
      “There may be an age gap of seven years but he was always by my side.”
      Yesterday Michael’s F1 pal Perry McCarthy, the man behind Top Gear’s original mystery character The Stig, said his fate was “desperately cruel”, adding: “It’s incredible that someone so special can be so badly hurt while skiing.
      “It’s so cruel that Michael happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
      Perry told sports betting website OLBG: “Nobody knows exactly what Michael would have gone on to do, but my feeling is that he’d have done something for humanity.
      “I feel he had that capacity, and I think he would have retained his love for F1, but he would have realised that there are much bigger things in life and he had the opportunity to change things.”
      Airlifted to hospital, Michael had two life-saving operations to remove blood clots from his brain.
      Doctors later said if it had not been for his headgear, he would have died instantly.
      Michael, who is married to Corinna, 54, was placed in a medically induced coma to try to reduce the swelling.
      In the decade that has followed, the F1 superstar has not been seen in public and  health updates have been irregular.
      Into this void has come un-founded rumour and conjecture.
      His family has remained largely silent about his condition and access is given only to those closest to him.
      Michael’s for- mer Ferrari colleague Luca Badoer, one of those allow-ed regular visits, revealed: “Only a few people are allowed to visit.
      “Corinna decides who is allowed to see him.
      “The family wants to maintain a sort of secrecy about this and I respect their will.
      “They do all this for the good of Michael.”
      Mick, now 24 and the spit-ting image of his dad, has described his father as his “idol” and “role model”.
      He, too, is a racing driver, who competed in F1 for Haas before losing his seat for the 2023 season to Nico Hulkenberg.
      In 2024 he will move to the World Endurance Championship, where his dad competed with Sauber-Mercedes before making his grand prix debut in 1991, to race for Alpine.
      In July fans were reduced to tears when Mick drove Michael’s Mercedes at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex while wearing his dad’s iconic red helmet and race suit.
      Mick said at the time: “It’s going to be spectacular to run, in my dad’s 2011 car, the W02 — even if it is only a short run.”
      Cashing in on the public sympathy for Michael, in April, a German magazine ran a tasteless  AI-generated “interview” with the stricken driver.
      Die Aktuelle’s front cover showed a photo of him smiling, with a headline promising,  “Michael Schumacher, the first interview”.
      But in fact the chat was written with an artificial intelligence tool.
      The family threatened legal action and Die Aktuelle’s editor was sacked.
      Named sport’s first billionaire by Euro-business magazine, Michael revolut-ionised the pinnacle of motor racing.
      Born with seemingly superhuman co-ordination and spatial awareness, he honed his physique to handle the G-force stress on his body in races.
      When cornering and braking, a driver’s head, plus helmet, effectively weighs almost half as much as their entire body.
      So Michael designed a cockpit-shaped exercise machine that attached to his helmet, which he used for hour after hour.
      At the time of his retirement in 2012 he held records for the most F1 wins (91), pole positions (68) and podium finishes (155).
      Born to working-class parents in Hurth, West Germany, he won his first karting championship aged six.
      Making his F1 debut in 1991, he went on to land seven drivers’ titles, a record equalled by Sir Lewis Hamilton in 2020.
      Away from the track — where he was described as a “perfectionist” — Michael was, according to manager Sabine Kehm, “devoted to his family”.
      In 1995 he wed champion equestrian and animal rights activist Corinna Betsch.
      They had children Gina-Maria in 1997 and son Mick in 1999.
      Shunning the celebrity limelight, the family lived in a newly built mansion with a private beach on Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
      They also own a horse ranch in Switzerland and another in Texas.
      Michael once described his marriage as “total harmony”, adding: “We have the same vision of how we want to spend our lives.”
      In April 2014, three months after Michael was placed in a coma, manager Sabine revealed he was showing “moments of consciousness and awakening”.
      Though still being treated in intensive care at Grenoble Hospital, he was said to be “making progress”.
      Michael made his F1 debut in 1991 and went on to land seven drivers’ titlesCredit: Reuters
      Michael’s wife Corinna has been by his side through his recoveryCredit: Rex
      Michael’s son Mick is a racing driver who competed in F1 for HaasCredit: AP
      There followed another period of silence about Michael’s condition, then a fresh statement in June 2014 revealed he was no longer in a coma.
      His “long phase of rehabilitation” continued at the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland.
      In September that year it emerged Michael had been transferred to his home beside Lake Geneva.
      Manager Sabine said: “Henceforth, Michael’s rehabilitation will take place at his home.
      “Considering the severe injuries that he suffered, progress has been made in the past weeks and months.”
      And she pleaded for speculation about his health to be “avoided”.
      Two months later a friend of Michael’s offered a glimpse into his condition.
      Wheelchair user and former racing driver Philippe Streiff, who had visited Michael in hospital, said: “He is getting better but everything is relative.
      “It’s very difficult.
      “He can’t speak. Like me, he is in a wheelchair, paralysed.
      “He has memory problems and speech problems.”
      Further updates were not forth-coming and the family dealt with their anguish privately, while strongly protecting his privacy.
      Then in May 2015 Sabine provided an update, revealing Michael’s con-dition was improving “considering the severeness of the injury he had”.
      That Christmas, German magazine Bunte reported that he could manage some steps with the help of therapists and could now raise an arm.
      It proved a false hope for his fans. The family sued Bunte, their lawyer telling a court Michael “cannot walk”.
      Then, in 2017, his former long-term manager Willi Weber made an extraordinary intervention, tell-ing a German newspaper: “I find it very unfortunate that Michael’s fans do not know about his health.
      “Why are they not being told the truth?”
      Two years later Jean Todt, Michael’s former boss at Ferrari and one of his closest confidantes, gave a rare update, revealing that they watched F1 races together on television.
      “Michael is in the best hands and is well looked after in his house,” Jean said.
      “He does not give up and keeps fighting.”
      Yet his precise physical and mental state remained shrouded in secrecy.
      In 2021, Corinna broke her silence to talk about her husband in a TV documentary.
      She revealed during an emotional interview: “I miss Michael every day. It’s not just me who misses him, everybody misses Michael.
      “But Michael is here — different, but here.
      “He still shows me how strong he is, every day.”
      During the Netflix documentary, called simply Schumacher, she added: “We are trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does.
      “We live together at home. We do therapy.
      “We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable.”
      Like his mother, Mick has main-tained a steadfast silence over precise details of his father’s health.
      In that 2021 documentary, Corinna provided an emotional rebuff to those who had accused the family of unnecessary secrecy.
      Read more on The Sun
      Corinna revealed of her husband: “We are getting on with our lives — ‘Private is private’, as he always said.
      “Michael always protected us, now we are protecting Michael.”
      Michael’s brother Ralf has admitted the F1 legend may never completely recoverCredit: Getty
      Corinna has chosen to keep Michael’s recovery privateCredit: Rex
      German mag Die Aktuelle ran an AI generate interview with MichaelCredit: Die AktuelleTIMELINE OF SLOW HEALING

      Dec 29, 2013: Michael suffers traumatic brain injury in a skiing accident in Méribel, France, and is airlifted to hospital in critical condition. Transported to CHU Grenoble hospital, where he remains for six months.
      Dec 30, 2013: Doctors place him in a medically induced coma.
      Jan 31, 2014: Michael is gradually woken. Not fully awake until June 6.
      Feb 7, 2014: Reports he has died denied.
      Mar 12, 2014: Family say he is showing “small, encouraging signs” and believe he will “pull through and will wake up”.
      April 4, 2014: Manager Sabine Kehm reveals he is showing “moments of consciousness and awakening”.
      June 16, 2014: Transferred to University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland, for rehab.
      September 9, 2014: Michael returns to his home next to Lake Geneva.
      His family say: “Progress has been made . . . There is still a long and difficult road ahead.”
      November 19, 2014: Former racing driver Philippe Streiff says after a visit: “He is getting better. It’s very difficult.
      “He can’t speak. He is in a wheelchair, paralysed. He has memory and speech problems.”
      September 2016: Michael’s lawyer, Felix Damm, says the F1 legend “cannot walk”.
      October 2017: Ex long-term manager Willi Weber says: “I find it very unfortunate that Michael’s fans do not know about his health.
      “Why are they not being told the truth?”
      November 2018: Wife Corinna gives the rare update: “It is good to receive so many kind wishes . . .  We all know Michael is a fighter and will not give up.”
      September 2021: In the Netflix documentary Schumacher, Corinna says: “Everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here – different, but here.
      “He still shows me how strong he is every day.” More

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      in Soccer

      Football clubs get £1,000 grant to help keep players on the pitch thanks to The Sun’s grant

      by

      FOOTBALL clubs across the country got an extra-special Christmas gift this year – a £1,000 grant to help keep their players on the pitch.The Sun has funded 150 clubs with the cash injection to make sure no child misses out on footie because finances are tight at home.
      Sevenoaks Powerchair Club gives teens and adults the chance to play football in adapted chairsCredit: Oliver Dixon
      Getting this grant to make sure our chairs’ batteries are powered properly is brilliant, said head coach AdamCredit: Oliver Dixon
      Our Footie For All campaign highlighted how kids were being forced to drop out of clubs because of the cost-of-living crisis.
      We then teamed up with Tesco Stronger Starts, which provides healthy food and activities for Children, to give away £150,000 to grassroots clubs across the country.
      We invited teams who work with kids under the age of 18 to apply for one of the 150 £1,000 grants.
      One very special team, who are celebrating being awarded a grant, is Sevenoaks Powerchair Club which gives teens and adults a chance to play the sport in specialist chairs.
      READ MORE ON FOOTIE FOR ALL
      Head coach Adam McEvoy, 36, said: “Our players have a high level of disability so can’t access any other form of football.
      “Getting this grant to make sure our chairs’ batteries are powered properly is brilliant. Each chair costs around £6,000 and we need them to last as long as possible, so our players don’t miss out.”
      The Kent-based team has 15 players, aged between 10 and 25, who spend their Sunday mornings enjoying their version of a kickabout.
      It also allows their parents a bit of respite from providing constant care, as they trust the coaches to look after their young ones.
      Most read in Football
      The team asks for a £15 contribution each month to help cover some of the sessions’ costs.
      “Football, in a way, is a by-product of what we do,” Adam said.
      “They love that when they come to football, they’re treated as a footballer. Nothing else matters for those few hours.
      “We see these kids grow into polite, confident young people. It gives them so much more than just a game.”
      Another club that has been awarded a grant is Coity Chiefs Girls FC in Coity, Bridgend, South Wales.
      Little Lionesses in Bridgend, WalesCredit: Adrian Sherratt
      Gornal Community Football ClubCredit: Supplied
      Under the guidance of LeeAnn Baker and her husband, the team has grown from 75 girls to 110 training every week.
      LeeAnn said: “We’re so grateful for the money because it means we can expand the pitch space we rent to make sure all the girls who want to play football can be involved.
      “Every week, we see the joy on the faces of all our players, who are having a chance to enjoy playing without getting comments from boys about how they shouldn’t play.
      “It’s such a supportive environment — when a player gets injured, the others rally round to help. It’s so important girls have a space to play and develop their talent.”
      In a bid to keep everyone involved, the club has a kit swap-shop, which keeps parents’ costs to a minimum as the girls grow.
      Each player pays £14 a month to cover some of the costs and receive top-flight training.
      Another girls’ team making sure women’s football has a bright future is Gornal Community Football club in the West Midlands. Coach Alan Moore, 62, has been running girls’ sessions for decades and is using our £1,000 grant to open up two new squads.
      He said: “The two new sessions are for girls who have completed the free FA wildcat session and want to start playing competitively.
      “It’s amazing to see their confidence grow — it’s so important girls have somewhere to play football.”
      The club started the girls’ team five years ago and it has proved incredibly popular, especially in the wake of the Lionesses’ success.
      The club, which has 18 teams of both genders, charges just £20 a month to play. If finances are tight, they allow kids to come for free.
      Alan said: “Thank you to The Sun and Tesco for helping us get two extra teams — it means 24 more girls are playing in a squad.”
      Read more on The Sun
      Christine Heffernan, Tesco group communications director, said: “It’s clear that football clubs up and down the country need the support more than ever, and that we’re reaching hundreds more children as a result of this funding.
      “The Tesco Stronger Starts and Footie For All partnership is getting children into doing what they love — playing footie more often.” More

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      in Soccer

      Sorry Grealish… Mary Earps’ Lionesses are UK’s ‘real rock stars’ with mag shoots, McDonalds ads and desperate celeb pals

      by

      SHE was once so hard-up she worked five jobs to pay for petrol to get to football matches.

      But England goalie Mary Earps could now rake in millions after being named Sports Personality of the Year 2023.

      Mary picked up the Sports Personality of the Year trophy

      She fought to get Nike to make a replica of her shirt for fans

      The 30-year-old is set to follow in the commercial footsteps of other England female greats like Alex Scott, Chloe Kelly and captain Leah Williamson, with industry insiders hailing their ‘rock star’ appeal that is rapidly catching up with their Three Lions compatriots.

      Since winning last year’s Euros, the Lionesses have graced the cover of top fashion magazines, endorsed sports and fashion brands like Nike and Calvin Klein and promoted luxury names such as Gucci.

      One sports agent told The Athletic last year: “It feels like I’m managing a celebrity more than a footballer at the minute.

      “They’re demanding just as much – possibly even more – money than the male players. Brands and celebrities are passing on their numbers.”

      The Lioness’ fame soared further this year after making the final of the World Cup, losing out to Spain in a narrow game that ended 1-0.

      One expert said big-name companies will be lining up to offer Mary sponsorship deals because she is already a fan favourite, with thousands chanting her name from the stands.

      The stopper is popular not just for her keeper skills but for taking on sports giant Nike.

      She took a swipe at the firm for not making a replica of her goalkeeper shirt for fans. They were quickly rolled out and Mary was vindicated when they took five minutes to sell out online.

      Stars like Alessia Russo are attracting a new generation of fans

      Ella Toone and Russo strike a pose for a magazine front cover

      Beth Mead received her OBE from the Prince of Wales

      In June this year she launched her own brand MAE27 to offer supporters an alternative shirt with the motto: ‘Be unapologetically yourself’.

      She is the second Lioness in consecutive years to be named Sports Personality of the Year after Beth Mead was given the 2022 accolade.

      PR expert Sean O’Meara, of Essential Content, told us: “Mary could earn millions. Her potential is huge.

      “Winning Sports Personality of the Year opens up all sorts of opportunities and could make Mary a household name.

      “Brand and sponsorship deals will increase, presenting jobs are possible and no doubt reality TV shows and programmes like Strictly Come Dancing will start sniffing around.

      “It’s a giant opportunity. The whole Nike replica shirt furore boosted Mary’s popularity as the lovable underdog that everyone can root for.

      “Now she’s been introduced to a more mainstream audience with this award, people who aren’t necessarily football fans.

      “Being the second Lioness to win Sports Personality is good for the whole Lioness brand. They are a really strong, healthy brand with lots of authenticity and scandal-free.”

      Lucrative deals

      Ella Toone and Alex Greenwood have deals with McDonald’s

      Beth Mead even has a mini doll in her likeness

      Mary’s teammates call her the TikTok Queen and it’s easy to understand why.

      Alongside team-mate Millie Bright, she’s not afraid to show off her dance moves and also posts training clips.

      She has more than 750,000 followers on the platform.

      Yet it could have been all so differently for Mary, who has a degree in information management and business studies. 

      Three years ago the Man United goalie was ready to quit the beautiful game after being left out of the England squad.

      She told how she collapsed to her kitchen floor and cried before considering retirement, then accepting she might never make the national team.

      “I got to a point where I felt I had sort of reached my limits,” she said. 

      “I had given football a good go, but wasn’t quite good enough. I had responsibilities. I had a mortgage and it wasn’t adding up.”

      Mary is riding the crest of a wave after also winning Best Fifa Goalkeeper, the Super League Golden Glove, the World Cup Golden Glove and England Player of the Year. She also came fifth in the Ballon d’Or.

      Mary had already faced a tough ride at a time when women’s football was mainly ridiculed by men.

      Aged 17 and playing for Doncaster, Mary admitted “there was no real money in the game back then.”

      Yet to take driving lessons, she relied on other players to help take her to matches and took on two coaching roles as well as a job in a local cinema, a kids’ toy shop and telesales work at her dad’s firm to contribute to petrol money.

      She said: “There was a girl who even drove from Southampton up to Doncaster and used to pick me up on the way. It is mad how the game has changed since then.”

      Doors opened

      Alex Greenwood has a deal with Visa

      Twitter/@Mdawg1bright

      Millie Bright advertised Walkers crisps

      More people than ever are tuning in to watch the women’s game, with an audience of 21.2 million watching the BBC’s World Cup coverage this year.

      This has attracted mass sponsorship and brand deals for players.

      One agent told The Athletic how the team’s “feet didn’t touch the ground for months.”

      They continued: “We had so many requests from so many different areas — areas that previously we’d been trying to push doors down in.

      “Two days after the final, we booked in a day with our players where we had to sit down with pages and pages of requests. We had loads of big brands, including some that hadn’t done much work in women’s football, wanting to work with them.”

      Presenter Alex Scott is arguably the most famous Lioness and is said to be as worth as much as £4million.

      England captain Leah Williamson is reportedly also worth £4million after striking deals with Italian fashion house Gucci, Nike and Pepsi.

      Arsenal’s Alessia Russo, 24, who has deals with Adidas, Gucci, PlaySation and Beats by Dre, and graced the cover of Women’s Health, is said to be on a £100,000-a-year salary and is reportedly the first British star to make £1million in a year.

      Manchester City’s Alex Greenwood, 30, has a contract with sports brand Under Armour – estimated to be worth £250,000 – as well as jewellery brand Abott Lyon, for whom she designed football-themed bracelets and necklaces. She also champions Garmin watches.

      Fashion idols and luxury brands

      The Lionesses got MBE’s

      Leah Williamson is a fashion queen

      Chelsea forward Lauren James is just 22 but already has deals with Sure, Google Pixel and Nike.

      Stable mate Millie Bright, 30, is an ambassador for Walkers crisps and Pepsi while Chloe Kelly, who stripped to her bra in a victory celebration at the Euros, starred in a Calvin Klein underwear campaign. Range Rover is reputed to have tried to tie Chloe into a £1.5m deal.

      Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone, 23, is the face of Nike’s Phantom GX football boots and has deals with PlayStation and McDonald’s.

      Right-back Lucy Bronze has paired with Cupra cars, Visa, EE and Klarna.

      Last year’s Sports Personality of the Year winner, Arsenal player Beth Mead has deals with Budweiser and McDonald’s and has been spotted wearing Victoria Beckham clothes. 

      It is not known how much her endorsements are now worth but Beth was valued at £410,000 before winning the title.

      ‘Clean and healthy’

      Alex Scott leads the big earners

      Alex Greenwood strikes a pose

      Sean O’Meara says England’s female heroines will continue to attract big money as the game grows in popularity too.

      He said: “Men’s football still has more commercial clout but the women are catching up and Mary stands out as one of the players with a cult following.

      “Women’s football is attractive to companies because it’s viewed as ‘clean’ and healthy.

      “Male footballers are cleaner than they used to be and, on the whole, are undergoing a renaissance in terms of perception and what it means to be a player.

      “There are a lot of players who are challenging the play hard, drink hard culture from the 90’s, but overall the women’s game is seen as a safer, sometimes more attractive, bet.” More