The Three Lions song has been given a rewrite ahead of next month’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The football anthem, written by comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner, has been reworked into a new version titled ‘Three Lionesses’.
The aim is to inspire public support for the country’s female football team, which will compete at the international tournament from June 7 to July 7.
In the new version of the song, the lyrics are changed to reflect attitudes about women’s football in general.
The first verse says: “That we don’t have the skill in their eyes. Well we’re tired of the lies."
The accompanying video references past successes of the England team in the same way as the original song, but the names, and footage involved, have been switched.
Substitutions include Jade Moore for Bobby Moore; Nikita Parris for Gary Lineker; Steph Houghton for Bobby Charlton, and Jordan Nobbs for Nobby Stiles.
The video also documents the intense training regimes and determination of the women’s team, set to a more atmospheric spoken version of the 1996 tune, which was commissioned by Lucozade Sport as part of its promotional activity around the tournament.
Nobbs, 26, an England Lioness with 53 caps for the national team, said she was proud of the new song.
She said: “I know the players love the ‘Three Lionesses’ track and I hope it inspires the team to World Cup glory. This is an incredible time for women’s football as awareness and popularity continues to grow.”
The original song, also known as Football’s Coming Home, was released for the men’s 1996 European championship campaign and has been chanted at England games ever since.
The track looks back nostalgically to England’s 1966 World cup win and the team's lesser success in more recent tournaments.
Claire Keaveny, head of marketing at Lucozade Sport said: “Arguably ‘Three Lions’ is the most iconic England song so we’re proud to be able to give it a Lionesses twist in support of the team and the women’s game in general. Our aim is to stir up support for the Lionesses, but also inspire a generation to get moving and try football.”
