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The Morning Star 2026 Conference
Simmonds speaks: World Cup heroes deserve more than business as usual

THE past month has been amazing. The rise in coverage of women’s football has been remarkable and you have to put it down to England’s terrific showing in the World Cup.

No-one expected them to reach the semi-finals and the 2.4 million viewers who stayed up to watch the match on BBC2 will forever remember the moment when Laura Bassett’s own goal went in.

The defender’s mistake brought tears to my eyes. I had never been that emotional over an international game.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
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