Petition teen attends Mary Earps waxwork unveiling

The waxwork of Mary Earps was unveiled at Madame Tussauds on Sunday

A football fan who successfully campaigned for Nike to sell replica goalkeeper shirts of England's women said it was "crazy" to attend the unveiling of a waxwork of Lioness Mary Earps.

A petition started by 17-year-old Emmy, from Northamptonshire, attracted more than 170,000 signatures before the sportswear giant made a U-turn on its position.

Emmy was among guests at Madame Tussauds in London on Sunday, as Earps attended the reveal of her likeness.

The teenager said the design was "so realistic" and to see Earps' reaction was "incredible".

Football fan Emmy said Mary Earps had been an inspirational figure for her

Jo Kinsey, studio manager at Madame Tussauds, said the figure had taken about 10 months to make and Earps had been "very involved, very engaged and not shy" in the process of its creation.

Earps, who won Euro 2022 with England and saved a penalty in the last year's World Cup final, was chosen to join the museum's collection following a public vote.

The goalkeeper is the first female footballer to be immortalised by Madame Tussauds and joins the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah in being recognised by a waxwork.

Mary Earps' waxwork took about 10 months to complete

Reflecting on her petition, Emmy said: "I wanted Mary's shirt because of the impact she's had on my life.

"When she won the award for Fifa's best female goalkeeper [in 2022], she said the quote 'be unapologetically yourself'.

"I've suffered quite a lot with bullying growing up and feeling like I didn't fit in. To see someone who experienced the same and came out on the other side resonated so much [with me]."

She said attending Sunday's reveal was an "eye-opener" to "see how big" her campaign had got.

Nike said it was "committed to retailing women's goalkeeping jerseys for major tournaments in the future".

Earps' waxwork will be on display at Madame Tussauds' Baker Street site from Friday.