'We never could have dreamed of Lionesses' success'

Julia Manning, third left, played as part of the first post-ban England women's football team in 1972

A former England women's footballer who paved the way for the Lionesses says her team could never have dreamed of the current team's success and the changes to the game more than 50 years on.

Julia Brunton played for England in 1972, becoming part of the first officially affiliated team to play for their country after a 50-year ban on women's football was lifted the year before.

Now Julia, who lives in Hove, East Sussex, says seeing the game grow in England with the success of the Lionesses has shone a light on the changes from just half a century ago.

Julia, 73, said: "It was so different in those days."

'I just loved playing football'

She added: "About 400 people watched us, and some games there wasn't a changing room and you would get changed in your car.

"It's really taken off into something we never dreamed of. I just loved playing football, but now they can do it as a living which is something we would never have even thought of."

Julia, neé Manning, said she began playing as a forward in her home town of Lowestoft, where the ladies team grew, having started as a team for the It's a Knockout game show.

Julia with England women's coach Sarina Wiegman

The team came after women's football, having been banned in 1921 by the FA who said it was "quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged", was finally re-affiliated in 1971.

Julia later took part in rounds of trials before being selected for England to play as a substitute in the first game, a 3-2 win against Scotland in November 1972.

She won her first full cap in April 1973, playing against France.

In total, Julia played four times for England, scoring once.

Shortly after, Julia moved to Brighton to get married, and played for the Brighton and Hove Supporters Club, Brighton GPO and C&C Sports – all precursors to the official Brighton & Hove Albion women's team.

Julia, 73, says she "couldn't ever have dreamed" of the professionalism of the sport when she played for England

In 2022, 50 years on from the first game, Julia reconnected with her former teammates when she received an official England cap from the FA.

She said: "That was the first time I felt like a Lioness.

"We went to training to meet some of the players and at the end of the training session they clapped us on to the pitch. They saw us as the pioneers."

Ahead of the Lionesses looking to defend their Euro 2022 crown, Julia says she still keeps in touch with her former teammates in a WhatsApp group to chat about the game.

As women's football continues to grow in the professional era, it is Julia and her teammates who still remember laying the foundations for the Lionesses' success purely through their love of the game.