Sing when you’re winning: The anthem inspiring England’s Lionesses

Miffed by a lack of official song to cheer England’s Women’s football team after their stunning win at last summer’s Euros, a crack group of musicians set to work, as Sports Team drummer Alex Greenwood reveals...

Women’s football will not go back into its box (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Standing in Boxpark Wembley in August last year, celebrating the Lionesses’ Euro victory, I couldn’t help but notice the irony of chanting “30 years of hurt”. Since then, despite the meteoric rise of the women’s game and its brilliant culture of dads, WAGS, lashes and Tooney’s nan, we still lack football anthems for the Lionesses.

It was this musical oversight, alongside Gabby Logan’s closing match commentary at last year’s final, that rang in the ears of musician Olivia Dean and producer Glenn Roberts, and made them pen the first notes of a song they’ve written for the current World Cup, where England are on a great run again after today’s win against Denmark. It’s titled “Call me a Lioness".

It’s the first anthem written explicitly for the England women’s team. In the final moments of the Euros tournament, Logan had rallied, "The Lionesses have brought football home. Now it’s down to the rest of us to make sure it stays here. You think it’s all over? It’s only just begun.”

When I was sent the demo this spring while I was on tour in America with my band Sports Team, I couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across my face. Not only does it provide a much needed bridge between music and women’s football, the melodies are relentlessly catchy.

The track is infused with a gleeful energy that perfectly encapsulates the world of women’s football. Our sing-song anthem is an invitation to the country to get behind the Lionesses in the World Cup, and support the legacy the team built last summer.

Artists were keen to get behind the track which now, rather fittingly, features 11 in total: Melanie C, Self Esteem, Ellie Rowsell from the band Wolf Alice, Marika Hackman, Rachel Chinouriri, Shura, Jasmine Jethwa, Rose Gray, Highlyy and Dean herself. Together the team sits under the banner, Hope FC – a nod to Hope Powell, an early and enduring women’s football icon.

All proceeds from the track will go towards supporting the work of four incredible charities facilitating more girls, women and non-binary people access to the beautiful game. Football Beyond Borders uses football as a tool to re-engage young people in their education and community.

Street Soccer London uses the power of football to create lasting positive change in the lives of socially disadvantaged adults and young people.

Girls United works to empower girls through football, offering free sessions to those aged five to 18.

Manchester Laces started as a grassroots team and have grown to a community of over 500 adult players. They are now expanding their work to offer free and fun football sessions to combat the drop-off of girls playing football around puberty.

Charities such as these have been working tirelessly in this space for years. Hopefully the proceeds from Hope FC’s song will ensure their work reaches more people, allowing the culture that surrounds women’s football to grow and further cement its position in society.

I’ve spent my life working in music and sport because I believe that both have the power to shape culture and change lives. In 2021, myself and set up two friends INMOTION COLLECTIVE to reflect this. Our hope is to enable everybody to access the benefits of movement, and expand their perceptions of self in order to thrive both as individuals and as part of a wider society.

Nowhere has this been better exhibited than through the triumphs of the Lionesses last year. The Euros tournament catalysed a growth in women’s football from niche fandom and sporadic grassroots provision to what we see today – you can’t pass a public space now without seeing girls training.

When I was growing up in Leeds in the late 90s, my football fanaticism came to an end when I hit puberty. Like many women from my generation, I lacked the infrastructure or confidence to continue playing. The Lionesses’ triumph last summer was a huge step towards making football an option for girls who might otherwise have been discouraged from participating in the game.

With the World Cup now once again in full swing, and England again making exciting progress in another major tournament, I can say that women’s football will not go back into its box. For the next generation, the message is clear – the barriers that once shaped their lives are crumbling. It would be great if our song was part of that catalyst. Now I don’t just “hope” for change – I am confident it is already here.

Alex Greenwood is the drummer for the band Sports Team