Mary Earps inspires generations with speech after being named Best Womens goalkeeper at FIFA awards

“Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I feel really honoured to be holding this really heavy trophy,” she began. “I just want to say thank you so much to my loved ones who have picked me up off the kitchen floor to be here today – not specifically tonight, but a few years ago.

“Thank you so much to all of my team-mates, without them this wouldn’t be possible. The coaching staff at Man United and England, but particularly Ian Willcock and Darren Ward, who I’m pretty sure deserve a trophy of their own for putting up with me every single day, because that isn’t easy. 

“Sarina [Wiegman], I run out of words to say thanks to you for the opportunity you have given me to chase my wildest dreams and for believing in me the way you have.

“This is for anyone who has ever been in a dark place, just know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Keep going, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

“Sometimes success looks like this, collecting trophies, sometimes it’s just waking up and putting one step in front of the other. There’s only one of the you in the world, and that’s more than good enough. Be unapologetically yourself.

“Thank you everyone.”