Lioness Keira Walsh honoured with hometown mural

The mural comes after Walsh was granted the freedom of the borough of Rochdale in 2022

A mural celebrating England and Barcelona footballer Keira Walsh has been completed in her Greater Manchester hometown.

The striking image of Rochdale-born Walsh has been painted on to the R-Kix Performance Centre on Smith Street in Rochdale.

Manchester-based street artist Katie Scott created the mural over the last week and said she had a great time painting it.

"People have all been very welcoming, stopping for a chat as the work progressed," she said.

Manchester-based street artist Katie Scott created the mural over the last week

"It's nice to know people of all ages are enjoying it and I'm very pleased to have played a part in celebrating Keira's story and hopefully inspiring the next generation of young girls."

Raised in Rochdale, Walsh first played football with her dad on a field opposite her house on Syke Common.

She later joined Pearson Juniors before being signed by Blackburn Rovers and later Manchester City.

She helped guide England to Euro 2022 glory and was named official player of the match in the historic match.

Raised in Rochdale, Walsh first played football with her dad on a field opposite her house on Syke Common

Since moving to Barcelona she has won La Liga, the Supercopa, the Champions League – and lifted the first women's Finalissima trophy with England.

She has won numerous honours for club and country, including multiple Champions Leagues, English and Spanish league titles, the UEFA Women's Championship in 2022 and is widely regarded as one of the finest midfielders of her generation.

The mural has been installed by Rochdale Borough Council in partnership with her agency Rept Sports and Rochdale Development Agency (RDA).

The council said the recently-opened R-Kix Performance Centre was an appropriate location for the art as it provided football pitches, coaching, fitness and other sporting facilities in the town centre.