[Plain text version]
Dear Cllr Martin Smith
Re: It’s Come Home!
I’m writing to you in your capacity as the Chair of Sheffield City Council’s Economic Development and Skills policy committee, which is responsible for the cultural development of our city.
Football has finally come home! Everyone across the country has rallied behind the Lionesses over the course of the Euro 2022 competition, and have been rewarded by a fantastic and historic win in yesterday’s final. I hope you’ll join me in passing on my congratulations to our triumphant team.
As well as being lucky enough to host many of the tournament’s fixtures, including the Semi Finals, some of the victorious squad are also local to us: Millie Bright and Ellie Roebuck come from neighbouring Killamarsh and Beth England is from Barnsley, and all three players came up through the Sheffield United Academy.
As you may know, Sheffield is the home of modern football. We have the oldest and second oldest football clubs in the world, and are where Sheffield Rules—the rules of the modern game, which introduced corners, and freekicks for fouls, among other things—were written.
As the home of football, it’s only appropriate that Sheffield should lead celebrations of football coming home.
I’m writing therefore to say that I would like to see Sheffield City Council celebrate and commemorate the England Women’s team’s victory, and particularly for those three players on the team with links to Sheffield. I write to ask that the Economic Development and Skills policy committee make this central to its future work.
In addition to marking the team’s success, I would like the Committee to also consider what steps Sheffield can take to champion the need for greater parity in support and investment between the Women’s and Men’s games, and to work to this end.
Yours sincerely,
Councillor Minesh Parekh
