Leyland's freestyle footballer Liv Cooke is championing women in football after being named as Euro 2020 ambassador

Liv Cooke, from Leyland, was unveiled as an ambassador for the UEFA Women’s Football and Men’s Euro 2020 in front of 55,000 football fans at the recent European Qualifier between the Netherlands and Germany in Amsterdam. Liv, who is also an ambassador for UEFA’s Together #WePlayStrong campaign to get more girls involved in football, added: “It’s such an honour. "And then when the idea of launching it live at the sold out qualification match between Holland and Germany was presented to me I loved it. “Being able to take the beauty of freestyling, street football and panna to football fans all over Europe is a really special opportunity.” She added: “Whether it’s playing in the park or on the world stage, whether it’s football or freestyling, it’s about expressing yourself with the ball at your feet. “I knew this wasn’t just a huge step for me but a huge step for women, with a woman being at the front of the Euro’s campaigning.” Liv will then shortlist the entries for a public vote, with one male and one female chosen to represent each of the host cities: Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome and Saint Petersburg. Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director of UEFA Events SA, said: “It is important that UEFA appeals to football fans of all ages, and by creating a mascot which is actually able to physically play the game we all love, this will inspire youngsters from Dublin to Baku to try and emulate the tricks that Skillzy, Liv Cooke and Tobias Becs are able to master.” Liv recently took over Manchester United’s Instagram account, showing just how meteoric her rise has been since becoming a freestyle world champion. Regarding what the future holds, the 19-year-old said: “It’s going to be a crazy year. “Without revealing too much all I’m going to say is you will be seeing more of me doing different things. “Keep your eyes peeled on social media and on your TV screens. Big things!” Last year Liv joined United and Spain midfielder Juan Mata’s Common Goal initiative, which asks footballers to pledge one per cent of their earnings to help disadvantaged children.