News Alessia Russo receives Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Maidstone

Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) has awarded England Ladies Footballer - Alessia Russo Honorary Freedom of the Borough.

The accolade has been made in recognition of Alessia being a person of distinction and acknowledging the contribution she makes as part of the England Lionesses Football Team. The honour was presented to her at an Extraordinary Council Meeting, held in the Town Hall today, 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.

Alessia Russo grew up and went to school in Maidstone, and the Council has been working with her family to celebrate her achievements and contribution to ladies football in recent years.

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.

Alessia Russo commented:

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.

The Mayor continued:

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.

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