08-18-2023, 06:13 AM
The British government will reward head coach Sarina Wegman and the team's star players with a medal if England's women's soccer team wins the World Cup, and the Netherlands' decorated captain is expected to receive an honorary Knight Grand Cross, according to exclusive reports.
Sources believe 10 Downing Street will relax restrictions on the distribution of sporting awards to recognize the same soccer achievements as England's men's World Cup win in 1966. In addition to Wegman's possible Sir David's Honorary Grand Cross, team stalwarts such as captain Millie Bright and goalkeeper Mary Upps are likely to be honored, with it yet to be determined whether the rest of the squad will receive awards.
The Great Britain Sports Honours Committee only recognized four star players after England won the Women's European Cup last summer - Leah Williamson, who is currently out of action due to injury, received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and Beth Mead, Lucy Brenther and Ellen White received a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Wegman, who coached her country's team, the Dutch women's soccer team, to the UEFA European Cup title in 2017, was added to the overseas list of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) with the consent of the Dutch government. Sources close to the matter said the same process would be required for the 53-year-old Wegmann to be awarded the honorary Order of Sir Grand Cross, but it is unlikely that such a request would be denied if it is backed by a World Cup winner's trophy. World Cup success would elevate Wegmann's team to a whole new level, with 10 Downing Street taking the lead in deciding whether or not to allow the Sports Council of Great Britain to bestow the honor on each player.
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Head coach Aaron Ramsey was knighted by the Queen immediately after winning the men's World Cup in 1966, but team captain Bobby Moore was not made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) until 1967.
Since then, the trend of awards in sport has been up and down. too many medals were awarded in the 2000s and early 2010s following England's victories in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the 2005 Cricket Ashes Cup, and multiple Olympic Games, after which the policy began to tighten up, and it was not until after England's victories in the 2017 and 2019 Cricket World Cups that the team's head coach and a handful of debutants were knighted.
Sarina Wegman, on the other hand, was awarded an Orange Order of Merit by the Dutch government immediately after she led the Dutch women's soccer team to the Euro title in 2017. She's been in the news lately: first it was rumored that the U.S. women's soccer team was interested in hiring her as their manager, then the British media advocated that she should be paid the same as Southgate (£400,000 vs. £5 million), and there have been calls from the good guys for her to replace Southgate in coaching the England men's soccer team. But Wegman laughed it off, her only concern is to lead the England women's soccer team to play well in the World Cup final on Sunday.
Sources believe 10 Downing Street will relax restrictions on the distribution of sporting awards to recognize the same soccer achievements as England's men's World Cup win in 1966. In addition to Wegman's possible Sir David's Honorary Grand Cross, team stalwarts such as captain Millie Bright and goalkeeper Mary Upps are likely to be honored, with it yet to be determined whether the rest of the squad will receive awards.
The Great Britain Sports Honours Committee only recognized four star players after England won the Women's European Cup last summer - Leah Williamson, who is currently out of action due to injury, received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and Beth Mead, Lucy Brenther and Ellen White received a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Wegman, who coached her country's team, the Dutch women's soccer team, to the UEFA European Cup title in 2017, was added to the overseas list of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) with the consent of the Dutch government. Sources close to the matter said the same process would be required for the 53-year-old Wegmann to be awarded the honorary Order of Sir Grand Cross, but it is unlikely that such a request would be denied if it is backed by a World Cup winner's trophy. World Cup success would elevate Wegmann's team to a whole new level, with 10 Downing Street taking the lead in deciding whether or not to allow the Sports Council of Great Britain to bestow the honor on each player.
Since then, the trend of awards in sport has been up and down. too many medals were awarded in the 2000s and early 2010s following England's victories in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the 2005 Cricket Ashes Cup, and multiple Olympic Games, after which the policy began to tighten up, and it was not until after England's victories in the 2017 and 2019 Cricket World Cups that the team's head coach and a handful of debutants were knighted.
Sarina Wegman, on the other hand, was awarded an Orange Order of Merit by the Dutch government immediately after she led the Dutch women's soccer team to the Euro title in 2017. She's been in the news lately: first it was rumored that the U.S. women's soccer team was interested in hiring her as their manager, then the British media advocated that she should be paid the same as Southgate (£400,000 vs. £5 million), and there have been calls from the good guys for her to replace Southgate in coaching the England men's soccer team. But Wegman laughed it off, her only concern is to lead the England women's soccer team to play well in the World Cup final on Sunday.