Stanway to Walsh to Toone….goal.

A goal created, and finished, in Blackburn as the Lionesses claimed Euro glory against Germany at Wembley.

Keira Walsh was named player of the match in Sunday's final, as England won 2-1, partnered again in midfield by Georgia Stanway, both having come through the youth ranks at Rovers.

Toone, who opened the scoring after coming off the bench, arrived as a teenager following the disbanding of Manchester United’s senior set-up, and scored 13 times in 20 appearances in 2016/17.

All three were then snapped up by Manchester City, where Walsh still plays, while Stanway has since moved on to Bayern Much and Toone to Manchester United.

Stories of the three have been well told and there is rightly great pride within the Rovers Ladies set-up given their success on the biggest stage.

Yet t focus now has to be on making the Lionesses’ success have a lasting legacy.

It is important not just to look at who the club have produced, but who might be next and shine the spotlight on the current side.

Rovers Ladies play in the Women’s Championship, the second tier of the game, having previously been all-conquering in the third tier.

By 2018/19 they had won the treble of the league, league cup and county cup for two successive seasons. They lost just once in the league in 2018/19, having gone the previous campaign unbeaten.

Rovers were beaten by the winners of the southern division in Charlton Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur in the two seasons prior to their promotion application being accepted in 2018, a time when manager Gemma Donnelly had considered walking away given the constant knockbacks.

Finishes of seventh, ninth and 10th have since followed in a third tier which is becoming increasingly competitive.

Rovers were one of just three semi-professional sides in the 12-team league last season and the table was reflective of that as they made up the bottom three places.

Birmingham City, relegated from the Women’s Super League, and Southampton, winners of the third tier, will be the new sides to the league, with Liverpool having returned to the top-flight and Watford tasting relegation.

Rovers have made Bamber Bridge’s Sir Tom Finney Stadium their home, with games played on Sunday afternoons.

They open their league campaign against Sheffield United on Sunday, August 21 (2pm), with the hope of a crowd in excess of the hardy 300.

The Football Association are looking to accelerate the progress of the women’s game but with that comes the need for funding.

That is needed to ensure that the infrastructure is in place for the game to grow.

With Rovers only part-time, it requires a balancing act for the players in how to juggle their time.

Equally, with more training and a push towards full-time comes a requirement for extra staff, in terms of coaching and medical, but also behind the scenes in terms of the commercial arm and media team.

Clubs are discussing with the FA about how to go about this, with the likelihood of a development grant to improve facilities to help grow the game and ensure the momentum built up by the Lionesses’ success can be long-term.

While the success of Sarina Wiegman’s side has been well documented, helped by the free-to-air access of the tournament, the sport has been thriving for some time.

As Rovers Ladies stalwart Natasha Fenton said: “Feels surreal this morning. Don’t let this exposure be short lived, support us, promote us. We have been here this whole time and this success has hopefully opened many doors, including sponsorship and the board of directors. Come to our games!!! Bamber Bridge.”