As the clock ticks down to 11am, players, coaches, and managers from Darlington’s FC U12 Feethams girls' team are eagerly awaiting England’s Lionesses bid to lift the coveted World Cup Trophy.

The girls gathered at the Arthur Wharton Mural on Drury Street on Friday to take some photographs and show their support for their idols as England prepare to take on Spain.

The mural was painted on the wall at the start of August, and now reads 'Let’s go Lionesses' alongside a lioness with a large red England cross over it. 

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The Northern Echo: Darlington U12 Feethams girls football team infront of the Lioness mural at the Arthur Wharton

The Northern Echo spoke to some of the young players, who all expressed their excitement at seeing England’s women reach the final in Australia.

Evie, Liv, Betty and Darcy, all aged 10 and 11, have all been playing football for at least the past three years, and play for the towns under 12 Feethams team.

Liv, aged 11, also plays on a boys’ team as well as on the Feethams girls’ team as she agreed she is absolutely “better than all of them”.

Darcy, also 11, originally found her way into the game after “watching her brother play”, which has now led her to play for the town and join a growing team herself.

This team of girls have been particularly successful and has recently won their second league as well as a recent tournament.

For team manager Chloe Bright, who also plays for Darlington Women, seeing the young footballers get into the game is a special thing to watch.

She said: “The girls are absolutely loving getting into it, and they are always really excited for each upcoming game. They have also been getting photos taken in their England shirts as they want to be just like the Lionesses.

“For women, it is great as we are spending so much time together watching football – it’s what we wanted to be like so now we get to bring the next generation into the game.”

Chloe said the Lionesses' success has already boosted the number of girls who have started playing football, which has grown exponentially since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When we first started there was only one girls' team from a club in Darlington – now there are four. Within each of the clubs, the girl's section is just growing," she said.

“It has clearly inspired the next generation.”

Toni Upton, 36, who is originally from the Shetland Islands in Scotland and plays for Darlington Women’s Team, spoke of the importance of bringing new female talent into the game.

She said: “I think it is fantastic. I have seen the Lionesses bring this up in interviews saying they had to struggle almost to get where they are and have achieved despite not having the facilities.

“This is just the start – I think because of the Lionesses people are starting to notice the top teams of women’s football and the fact they are doing well.

The Northern Echo: Darlington U12 Feethams girls football team infront of the Lioness mural at the Arthur Wharton

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“But, there is still so much to do at the grassroots level. We have some fantastic girls and a great set up at Darlington where they can play with girls and not have to be thrown in with boys.

“This is not the same around the rest of the UK though, and there is still so much to be done across the country.”

According to most of the young Lionesses, the final score will be 2-1 to England on Sunday. Other popular predictions included 3-1 - with one even throwing out an optimistic guess of 12-0.

Nonetheless, the message from the girls was clear – England’s Lionesses will triumph, beating Spain to lift that well-deserved trophy.