The making of a Lioness - as told by their parents: Extra jobs, bank loans and sleeping in meetings

Behind every roaring success of the England Lionesses, every historic goal and every lifted trophy, lies a profound, often unseen narrative of unwavering parental devotion. While the world celebrates the skill, resilience, and camaraderie of these elite athletes, their journey to the pinnacle of women's football was paved not just with talent and hard work, but with the extraordinary sacrifices made by the mothers and fathers who believed in them from the very first kick. These are the stories of second jobs taken to cover academy fees, of bank loans secured for travel expenses, and of exhausted parents catching fleeting moments of sleep during long commutes or even in quiet corners of their workplaces, all to fuel a dream that felt, for many years, like a distant whisper.