England have drawn praise for their unusual squad announcement for the Women’s World Cup.
The squad names were released one by one on Wednesday in a series of videos posted on Twitter by a host of famous faces, starting with the Duke of Cambridge, who announced the name of England captain Steph Houghton.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that our @Lionesses' defensive rock and captain @StephHoughton2 will be on the plane to France for the Women's World Cup.
Steph – congratulations. I know you and the team will do the nation proud. Good luck!#BeReady #Lionesses pic.twitter.com/xoRHnNeCrI
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 8, 2019
Other famous names involved included Harry Potter actor Emma Watson, who announced Demi Stokes, and chat show host James Corden, who revealed the name of Ellen White, while Fran Kirby’s place in the squad was confirmed by pop star Ellie Goulding.
Congrats to @DemiStokes on joining the @Lionesses!!! #BeReady ⚽️🌟 pic.twitter.com/KTZFknOXbA
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) May 8, 2019
Some big names from the men’s game were also involved, with Raheem Stirling, Jordan Pickford and former England skipper David Beckham announcing Georgia Stanway, Karen Bardsley and Nikita Parris respectively.
.@stanwaygeorgia 🏴🦁Congratulations on making the @lionesses squad, very well deserved. We are all behind you, bring it home girls !! #BeReady pic.twitter.com/zDGVmQQll1
— Raheem Sterling (@sterling7) May 8, 2019
The unusual announcement proved a hit, drawing praise from fans, media and sportspeople.
The @Lionesses squad announcement thread is pure gold.👌
Brilliant to get buy-in to this from so many top names…trust me, it’s not as easy as you may think! https://t.co/oLnWgHcvmm
— Jamie Fox (@jamiefox1) May 8, 2019
The #Lionesses are setting a new bar when it comes to squad announcements. Brilliant way to get get people engaged. 🏴
— Jess Long (@JessCiara) May 8, 2019
Love this! Class idea from @Lionesses ⚽️👏 https://t.co/F5VvqgjQcW
— Julie Nelson (@JulesNelson5) May 8, 2019
The move was explained by England head coach Phil Neville as an opportunity to give the players a “special moment”.
It is my absolute pleasure to be able to announce that my little sis the fantastic @karenjcarney has made the England squad for the World Cup so proud of you mate enjoy every moment 😉@Lionesses #BeReady pic.twitter.com/Zt2LwTqAAd
— Rachel Yankey OBE (@rachelyankey11) May 8, 2019
He told BBC Sport: “We wanted to make sure that each individual player really had a special moment.
“Going to a World Cup was something I never did as a player and for these girls it’s the biggest thing in their lives.”