EXCLUSIVE Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman surprises young girls at a local football club as she gears up to lead England Women to victory
Arriving at Wembley Park, she turned up to teach the group about healthy eating as part of England's brand deal with Marks & Spencer.
Sarina, 55, surprised 25 girls aged between nine and 11 from Ark Academy, a local school.
Asked by the girls what it's like to train the Lionesses, she said: 'I love it and I am the lucky one to train with the best players in the country. They're so ambitious and so talented. And I hope I will continue that for a while.'
Asked about any advice for young women wanting to become a footballer, she said: 'Make mistakes because you learn from them.
'Work really hard and be a good person.'
Arriving at Wembley Park, she turned up to teach the group about healthy eating as part of England's brand deal with Marks & Spencer.
She continued: 'Winning with the Netherlands was one of my favourite moments in my career and winning in 2022 here in Wembley.
'I used to be a PE teacher and I think it's one of the coolest jobs you can have.
'I just loved it.'
It comes as the Lionesses are gearing up for their group stage matches, playing on Saturday against France.
Just yesterday it was announced Alessia Russo, Hannah Hampton, and Lucy Parker signed a huge new brand deal with Extra, the chewing gum brand.
Earlier this week it was revealed Wiegman's position as England head coach is not under threat, even if the Lionesses fail to progress beyond the group stage at this summer's European Championships.
England have been drawn in a 'group of death' alongside 2017 Euros champions the Netherlands and heavyweights France, as well as major tournament debutants Wales, and are coming into their title defence on an inconsistent run of form.
The year started with an impressive win against world champions Spain, as well as a 5-0 drubbing of Belgium in the Nations League, but both reverse fixtures away from home ended in disappointing defeats.
To add to this, the withdrawal of key leaders Mary Earps, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright in the lead-up to the squad announcement has added an air of uncertainty ahead of England's Euros campaign, which kicks off next Saturday against France.
She continued: 'Winning with the Netherlands was one of my favourite moments in my career and winning in 2022 here in Wembley. 'I used to be a PE teacher and I think it's one of the coolest jobs you can have. I just loved it.'
England have been drawn in a 'group of death' alongside 2017 Euros champions the Netherlands and heavyweights France, as well as major tournament debutants Wales, and are coming into their title defence on an inconsistent run of form
And FA CEO Mark Bullingham has thrown his weight behind Wiegman ahead of the curtain-raiser. When asked whether an early England exit would affect Wiegman's position, he replied: 'I think we're delighted that Sarina's in place for 2027 and I don't see any scenario changing that.'
He added: 'We know we're one of a number of teams who can win it (the Euros), and there are actually three of those in our group. We've prepared well and we believe the Nations League provided us with some really testing fixtures for us to improve.
Wiegman is contracted to remain in post until 2027. When she took over in 2021, England were eighth in the world and have not left the top five since winning the Euros on home soil in 2022 and leading them to the World Cup final in 2023.
She remains the only coach – men's or women's – to win two major tournaments with two different countries, having led the Netherlands to Euros glory in 2017.
As for extending her contract beyond 2027, those talks are yet to occur.
'We think she (Wiegman) is a fantastic coach and she's done a brilliant job for us,' Bullingham said. 'We're delighted that she's with us until at least 2027; we haven't started to look beyond that timescale yet or engaged in those conversations. We're locked in for this tournament and the next one (Brazil World Cup 2027) and that feels very good for now. But that's not to say we wouldn't have a conversation at some point in the future.'
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