Few things herald the dawn of a major tournament like a “Big Reveal” – Catherine Etoe reports from Canada House…
Few things herald the dawn of a major tournament like a “Big Reveal” – that moment when the media sit around a big fancy room waiting to be told which players have made the grade for an imminent championship finals. So you can imagine the excitement that filled the big fancy room we the media were invited to sit in at the Canadian High Commission in London on Monday.
The Big Reveal in question was the England squad announcement for this summer’s Women’s World Cup. Around 30 players had helped England get there, but only 23 will be allowed to board the plane for Canada on Monday 25 May.
Who, we wondered, would make the cut? Not having bumped into any of the players in the toilet as we did in the moments that preceded a previous WWC Big Reveal, we could only make educated guesses based on form, gossip, gut feeling and the numerous nine foot high ‘A New Pride’ posters that filled the foyer of this incredible building on the edge of Trafalgar Square.
With enough players to fill a starting XI staring game-facedly down at us from these giant sheets of paper as we tried not to spill the lavish sandwich and fresh fruit buffet on our lapels, we had almost half of the squad nailed by midday.
But nothing would be certain until 1pm when Mark Sampson’s chosen pride of England lionesses, ferried in half an hour earlier by bus, were due to bounce on to a specially erected stage.
Actually, it would be a bit past 1pm before any of us set sight on the squad because we were first treated to a video montage of England’s qualification campaign complete with inspirational music, then a video montage of the BBC‘s coverage of women‘s football this past year complete with slightly louder inspirational music.
Our guide from the lectern, as at previous Big Reveals, was women’s football champion Jacqui Oatley, the presenter tasked with fronting the WWC television coverage by the BBC, the FA’s broadcast partners.
And what coverage it will be. “For the first time ever the BBC will show every match live,” said Jacqui before the director of sport at the BBC, Barbara Slater, whetted our appetites further with the news that Arsenal’s Rachel Yankey would join her old England pals Sue Smith, Lucy Ward and Rachel Brown-Finnis as a pundit for the tournament.
“We will be with the team every step of the way, capturing the drama, the twists and turns, the unfolding drama of what promises to be an incredible tournament,” Barbara added.
Yanks wasn’t in our midst to watch this Big Reveal drama unfold, but the others were, sitting in the front rows with esteemed commentators Jonathan Pearce and Steve Bower.
Part of the BBC team, Sue Smith (left) and Lucy Ward (right), with the ever-smiling FA National Women’s Football Development Manager, Rachel Pavlou.
Across the aisle sat a glowing Mark Sampson in full training kit. Apart from an intermittent “shushing” of the chattering squad in the corridor outside, you could have heard a pin drop as the England boss advanced towards the stage and readied himself to announce the line-up.
“It was very difficult to make the final call and I would like to thank the players who have played their part,“ he said before announcing one by one the names of those who were to play an even greater part.
Two and a half minutes later, the stage was packed with purple and blue track-suited England footballers. Eight have never played in a senior WWC; eight are about to embark on their third; several had just made it back from major injuries; all are desperate to make England proud this summer.
“I think we will be a pleasure to watch and we are ready for this World Cup and ready to shine and show our flair,” declared vice-captain Jordan Nobbs to the gathering.
It wasn’t so much a revealing declaration as a statement of intent; for the good of the game in this country, everyone who cares about women’s football will hope that this exceptional footballer is right.
Squad: Karen Bardsley, Siobhan Chamberlain, Carly Telford; Laura Bassett, Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Steph Houghton, Claire Rafferty, Alex Scott, Casey Stoney; Katie Chapman, Jade Moore, Jordan Nobbs, Jo Potter, Jill Scott, Fara Williams; Eniola Aluko, Karen Carney, Toni Duggan, Fran Kirby, Lianne Sanderson, Jodie Taylor, Ellen White.
Words & Images: Catherine Etoe
Read the player interviews in the next issue of SK Magazine. (Available from 29th May)
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