Alnwick teenager features in FA video alongside England hero Lucy Bronze

The England star grew up in Northumberland and played for Alnwick Town as a junior before her footballing career took off.

The FA contacted Alnwick Town Juniors as they wanted someone from where Bronze grew up to feature in a video aimed at inspiring more girls to follow in her footsteps.

The club selected 15-year-old Ellie Jones, a pupil at Duchess’s Community High School, who has played for them since she was eight.

Filming took place in Alnwick and at the FA’s St George’s Park home in Burton upon Trent where Ellie got to meet the Lionesses.

In the video, Ellie says: ‘It’s the best feeling when I’m playing football. I just forget everything that’s going on in my life, even if I’ve had a bad day, and I feel like I can express myself in the way that I want to.

‘If I had to choose between football and something else, it would always be football. It just bring me a lot of happiness.

‘Role models like Lucy, who come from a small town, if she can do it and she’s lived here then why can’t I do that?’

The video also features a message from Bronze encouraging girls like Ellie to ‘keep playing, keep training, keep dreaming and dream big’.