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07
Sept 2023
Harrogate-born England player Rachel Daly is one of 30 nominees on the shortlist for the world's best female footballer.
Daly and fellow England stars Millie Bright, Mary Earps and Georgia Stanway are among those in the running for the women's Ballon d'Or.
Daly finished top scorer in the WSL last season to win the Golden Boot and was named PFA women’s Players’ Player of the Year. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland took the men’s award.
Now the former Rossett School student, who started her career at Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club, could be named the continent's number one.
Daly, who has 447,000 followers on Instagram and 91,000 on Twitter, posted on social media to say it was a "phenomenal honour" to be nominated.
https://twitter.com/RachelDaly3/status/1699471120116662330?s=20
Daly's recent awards also include winning Euro 22 with England Lionesses and being runners-up in this year's World Cup.
But North Yorkshire Council still shows no sign of bestowing a civic honour on the homegrown superstar.
A petition, launched by Killinghall Nomads with the backing of the Stray Ferret, is due to be discussed by the council's Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee in November after meeting the required threshold of signatories.
But the council's ruling executive, which is 80% male, has said only the matter will be discussed at an unspecified time as part of a wider policy on recognising local people.
The Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon was named after the local Olympic diving champion.
But so far the council has not shown any inclination to do the same for Daly in Harrogate — or come up with a similar accolade.
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