Maidstone Council honours England Lioness Alessia Russo with Freedom of the Borough

Maidstone Council has honoured England Lioness Alessia Russo with Freedom of the Borough.

Alessia Russo grew up and went to school in the town, and played for Bearsted F.C. Girls U10 as a child.

Maidstone Borough Council says the recognition is in honour of the contribution she makes to English football and the local area.

The honour was presented to her at an Extraordinary Council Meeting, held in the Town Hall today on Thursday. (29 February)

Alessia with members of her family attended the meeting when she was admitted to be an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Maidstone.

Reacting to the news, Alessia Russo said: "It’s a huge honour for me to receive this accolade.

"Maidstone is my home and always will be so I’m delighted to have been awarded the freedom of the borough.

"I will continue to promote women’s football in the area and hopefully I can help and inspire the next generation of Lionesses."

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Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Gordon Newton said: Maidstone Borough Council is delighted to be able to officially recognise Alessia and award her with the Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Maidstone today.

"The Honorary Freedom of the Borough was awarded by the Council to Alessia in part to acknowledge and celebrate the fantastic result by the England Lionesses winning the Final of the Womens European Championships in July 2022.

"MBC hopes that it will also help contribute to the legacy of the Lionesses achievements and increase participation in sport and particularly girls playing football at all levels.

"We are very proud of her achievements and continued contribution to the game of football and I sincerely hope that she will encourage more young people - both girls and boys to follow in her footsteps.

"Congratulations, Alessia, everyone in Maidstone is very proud of you."