England Announces Women's Euro 2022 Squad in a New Star-Studded Film

England may have come up just short in the last European Cup, but the women’s side is here to claim glory. To announce its official squad for the upcoming UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, the Lionesses tapped director India Rose Harris and illustrator Kelly Anna to create a launch video filled with nostalgia.

The film follows the journey of a footballer — from bedroom dreams to astroturf, to Sunday league to stadium. Seen throughout are a series of holographic sticker cards that mark each player as they’re being announced. “We all have memories of panini stickers when we were young,” Anna told It’s Nice That. “However I don’t have a memory of one that had female players. So having the chance to reimagine these stickers in my own style with all-female players was a dream.”

Made in collaboration with InMotion Collective, the film comes at a symbolic moment in time for women’s sports. “We reflected on what a video like this would have meant to us as three girls who grew up as football obsessives yet without any women visible within that world,” said the collective, adding, “We wanted to draw on our experiences and ensure all the scenes reflect emblems of what the game means for us while spotlighting people from the community we rate.”

Amelia Dimoldenberg, Beckham, Wrighty, Chunkz — the film is jam-packed with easter eggs, each carrying the range of emotions felt along the footballer’s journey. UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 will kickoff in England on Wednesday, July 6 to July 31.

Elsewhere in England, JeeYoung Lee comments on the passage of time in her latest installation.