Millions Of Eyes Will Be Fixed On Molly At Women's European Championship

A football fanatic has been given the honour of being the match ball deliverer for the opening game between England and Austria at the Women's European Championship.

Millions of eyes across the world will be firmly focused on Molly Anastasiou, who plays for Ashton Pumas Girls Football Club, when she delivers the ball ahead of kick-off next Wednesday (6th July).

The Lionesses will be backed by a capacity crowd at Manchester United's Old Trafford, with more than 72,000 fans expected to be in attendance for the opening fixture on home soil. 

Molly, 13, was chosen for the role,  which has been organised and coordinated by competition sponsor Just Eat, after being nominated by the club's coaches for her inspirational attitude on and off the pitch.

In what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest moments of her life so far, Molly, who plays for the club's under 14s, will be rubbing shoulders alongside some of the biggest names in women's football, including Lionesses captain Leah Williamson, and England's record goalscorer, Ellen White. 

Ashton chairman Joe Morrell, whose daughter plays for the club, said it's an exciting opportunity for Molly and one she can't wait for. Speaking to Reporter Sport about the occasion and how it came about, Joe said: "I've got a good relationship with the Manchester FA and they asked us, as a club, to select an inspirational player of ours for the duty. We whittled it down to two teams - our under 12s and under 13s - just because in previous years, our younger players have enjoyed mascot duties and so forth.

"We asked the coaches to choose one inspirational player and explain, in a write up, why they should be chosen. We then put it to a coaches vote - a blind one with no names included - and from there Molly was chosen."

In a strange turn of events, Molly was initially selected to be the match ball deliverer for the Portugal and Belgium fixture. However, Just Eat and the organisers were so impressed with Molly that they decided to upgrade her experience. Joe added: "Just Eat responded to us and said they wanted to meet Molly. 

"As part of a promotional package for the event, they attended one our training sessions on Tuesday night, held at Great Academy Ashton, and spoke to Molly about the opportunity, whilst filming the other girls' session in the process.

"As an added bonus, the club were given a handful of official Uefa balls and Molly was gifted a new pair of Adidas boots. It's a brilliant opportunity not just for Molly, but all the girls associated with the club."

It's hoped that the Euros, especially on home soil at venues across the country, including Sheffield, London, Brighton and Milton Keynes, will strengthen the appeal of women's football and grow the game from strength-to-strength.

Joe, who undertakes a number of roles at the club, says the future is bright not just for the club, but the women's game as a whole. "We've seen a huge increase, probably from the turn of the year, in terms of player numbers" said Joe.

"We've been a growing club for 12-18 months, even through covid, as kids were stuck inside their homes for a long time and were raring to do some exercise and play some football, once restrictions permitted it.

"The game itself has grown massively because of the Barclays sponsorship, more visibility on TV and, of course, the upcoming tournament which has been promoted for months.

"I read a report a few weeks ago that viewing figures are up by 60 per cent, or something of that nature, so the game, and the club, has been growing really well.

"We've probably had another 20 girls join us over the past three months across all our teams. We have 120 girls at Ashton Pumas, and if space allows then we want to grow the club even further. I can only see girls football getting bigger and bigger off the back of the Euros. With Alex Scott and other pundits becoming more prominent in the men's game, it can only be a good thing for the future of the sport."