The Overground line which runs through Wembley, aka the home of English football, is being renamed in honour of the Lionesses. 

The move, which was announced by TfL this morning, will see the line renamed the Lioness line to commemorate the team’s iconic victory over Germany in the 2022 Euros final.

The hard-fought victory – claimed following an injury-time goal from Chloe Kelly – marked the first moment any English senior football team had won a major championship since the World Cup in 1966. 

According to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, the line will honour “the historic achievements and lasting legacy created by the England women’s football team that continues to inspire and empower the next generation of women and girls in sport”.

The move is part of a series of changes from TfL, which will see the London Overground network split into six distinct lines to make it easier for passengers to navigate.

Alongside the Lioness line, five sections of the network are also being renamed:

• The Mildmay line from Stratford to Richmond and Clapham Junction, named after the charitable hospital in Shoreditch that played an important role in the 1980s HIV/Aids crisis.
• The Windrush line from Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction, New Cross, Crystal Palace and West Croydon, which runs through several areas with strong ties to Caribbean communities and is named after the Windrush generation.
• The Weaver line from Liverpool Street to Cheshunt, Enfield Town and Chingford, which runs through areas of London known for their importance in the textile trade.
• The Suffragette line from Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside, named after the East End working-class communities that played a pivotal role in the fight for women’s rights. Barking Riverside was also home to the longest-surviving suffragette, Annie Huggett, who died aged 103.
• The Liberty line from Romford to Upminster, named “to reference the historical independence of the people of the borough of Havering” which it runs through and celebrate “a defining feature of London”.

The new lines will be represented through an update to the Tube map, which will see each line reflected with a different colour to make them easier to identify; the Lioness line will be represented by two yellow parallel lines, for example. 

Khan said: “This is a hugely exciting moment, transforming how we think about London’s transport network. Giving each of the Overground lines distinct colours and identities will make it simpler and easier for passengers to get around.

“In reimagining London’s Tube map, we are also honouring and celebrating different parts of London’s unique local history and culture. The new names and colours have been chosen through engagement with passengers, historians and local communities, reflecting the heritage and diversity of our amazing city.”  

Of course, this is far from the only legacy the current Lionesses will leave behind. The team were instrumental in the government’s pledge to ensure girls are given equal access to football in schools, after they penned an open letter to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss following their Euros victory.

The letter, which was sparked by a conversation led by Lotte Wubben-Moy and Leah Williamson on the team bus after the Euros celebration, was shared in response to a refusal from the Department for Education to change the guidelines at the time, which said girls should be offered “comparable activities” if schools have all-boys football teams.

The letter led to the government announcing a multi-million-pound investment scheme to ensure girls are not only given access to a minimum of two hours of PE a week up to year 11, but also have equal access to all sports, including football.  

Images: Getty