WSL Full-Time

Chelsea and England ace Kirby ‘speechless’ after appearing on wall of Kirby Estate

Daniel Pentland

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Fran Kirby of England prepares during the UEFA Women's Euro England 2022 group A match between England and Austria at Old Trafford on July 06, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) NOTE: FAWSL Full-Time uses images provided by the following image agencies via OneFootball: Getty Images (https://www.gettyimages.de/)

Chelsea and England ace Fran Kirby has admitted that she was speechless after seeing a mural of her painted on a wall of the famous Kirby Estate.

Located in Bermondsey, SE16, the Kirby Estate has made a name for itself in supporting England teams. When major international tournaments take place, the estate is dressed in red and white with England flags decorating the streets.

Residents have gone one step further for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, they have organised a painted mural of the estate’s namesake Kirby. Speaking about the mural on the latest broadcast of Lionesses Live, Kirby admitted that she was speechless to learn of the tribute whilst promising to visit the Kirby Estate herself after the tournament.

“That is definitely in the plans (to visit the estate after the tournament),” Kirby said. “It’s amazing, I’ve never seen anything like that before to do with me. I was seriously speechless when I saw the picture.

“I wouldn’t say I’m the most emotional person but when I see things like this (the mural) and when we were singing the national anthem at Old Trafford with everyone singing in the crowd, you kind of realise that this is a big moment not just for myself, but for women’s football in general.”

England have been based in London throughout the tournament, just a few miles from the Kirby Estate mural, Kirby’s home and her club, Chelsea. The player went on to say that she is enjoying the unique feeling which comes with a home tournament.

She said “I think it has a different feel because it’s a home tournament and we’re based in London. I live probably about 15 minutes away from here so it kind of just feels really homely for me.

“Other ones have obviously always been away – my first one was Canada, which with the time difference and travel, it was quite a lot. I think this just has more of a homely feel, we’ve got the home crowd too which is just amazing.”

The full edition of Lionesses Live can be viewed below.

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