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Georgia Stanway has said many England players are putting their hands in their pockets “to make sure that our families can get to Switzerland”, and praised the effort made by fans to support the team at the European Championship given the high cost of living in the country.
“My family can make it, but I’m also aware that Switzerland is a very expensive country,” Stanway said. “Even just for flights and hotels, then the cost of living there is extremely high, so we understand the demand it is on fans.
“That’s difficult for us as well because we want to help and support as much as possible, even with our own families. A lot of us are putting our hands in our pockets to make sure that our families can get over there. We would love to see as many fans as possible and we want to thank them in advance.”
It is understood that all 23 squad members defending England’s European title next month receive a sum to help towards travel for family and friends. The figure is similar to that made available for the players who went to Australia for the World Cup in2023 and is no less than the men’s team players receive. That money can be used for travel and accommodation and the Football Association has a travel service for bookings and guidance.
“It will be a bit difficult for families who are staying out for the whole tournament,” said the midfielder Ella Toone, “but I’ll always help my family be out there and make memories ... and make sure they’re eating.”
Lotte Wubben-Moy reserved praise for the supporters, including those not travelling: “A lot of people are willing to go above and beyond to be able to watch us and that’s quite inspiring for us. It creates an energy that we not only felt during the Euros but we still felt it in Australia, regardless of the time difference.”
For Stanway, making the tournament in Switzerland was not guaranteed after she had surgery on a lateral collateral ligament injury in January. She did not play for Bayern Munich for the remainder of the season but joined England for their Nations League fixtures against Portugal and Spain in late May and early June and played 60 minutes across the two games.
“I have no fears, I actually feel very ready,” Stanway said. “I probably feel more ready than if I’d played a jam-packed season. I’ve learned a lot in this process and the injury wasn’t a bad thing to happen to me. It was my first injury in 10 years in professional football, so I’ve not done too badly.”
How did it help? “It gave me that time away from football to work on the weaknesses in the gym and just get a completely different mindset. Going in everyday for rehab is completely different to turning up every day for training and I just feel like I got stronger and stronger every day, surrounded by good people.
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“I think it’s evident that I worked hard in the rehab process because I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything. I’ve come back and I’m moving well, I’ve been able to pick up things naturally, and that’s all because of the hard work in the rehab.”
Stanway also accelerated her new hobby while injured: tattooing. Her left leg became the focus. “I’ve got a lot of new tattoos; that kind of became my zen. As soon as I pressed that button, my headspace was fully clear. All I had to do was perfect the thing that was exactly in front of me going on my left leg.
“My brace was on my right leg so I couldn’t tattoo it, so I ended up coming across and doing my left leg. It was the only place I could reach.”
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