Reading Women's manager Kelly Chambers was 'very proud' to see England lift the 2022 European Championships, especially Reading-raised Fran Kirby.

29-year-old Kirby scored twice and started every match of the competition, the Lionesses first major tournament victory.

Born and raised in Caversham, the midfielder scored more than 50 goals for the Royals under Chambers before departing for Chelsea in 2015.

READ MORE: Former Reading FC stars lead England Women to championship

Speaking exclusively to the Reading Chronicle, boss Chambers said: "It was a proud moment to see them lift the trophy, especially with Fran who was at the club from such a young age."

With more than 87,000 at the final at Wembley Stadium, and more than 25 million watching at home, it has shone a light onto the women's game unlike any other event.

However, this has to be just the start.

"It’s going to be huge," Chambers beamed. "I hope we’re going to be seeing more people coming to watch the WSL and everywhere around the country. The media attention it’s captured is fantastic, it needs to grow from there. The biggest thing it’s going to do is inspired the next generation, and that’s the biggest thing for me.

"We can’t rely on it; we’ve got to have people continue to drive it. The FA are doing so much to make sure it is more accessible but it’s people need to keep pushing it now. The WSL has gone from strength to strength every season, but we need to use this moment for clubs and the FA to really push and drive the sport."

Reading have played in the top tier of the women's game since 2016 and are the only side in the division who play all of their home matches in the same ground as the men- the SCL Stadium.

Despite the club pushing the women's side forward, only Birmingham City average a lower crowd than the 790 at last season's matches.

Chambers hopes that this result will change that.

"For me the biggest thing the Euros has done is let everybody know that the sport is out there. We need to let people know that what you see in the Euros, they can come and see in a WSL game. For us at Reading, we’re on the doorstep at the SCL Stadium. It’s one of the cheapest sports and we’ve got to make sure we’re as accessible as possible to everybody."

Starting at just £30, season tickets work out as little as just £2.73 for some age catergories, while the sister club partnership scheme can give grassroots clubs money-cannot-buy experiences.

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