Toni and Rachael excited to be EURO 2020 volunteers

Horncastle couple Rachael Howes and Toni McHamilton said when there was an opportunity in 2019 to apply to be a volunteer for Euro 2020 it was a no brainer.

Rachael, who plays for Lincoln City Women FC and a local RAF football team, said: “We are both football mad, we both play the game, watch any game and talk football.”

Toni currently works at JB Sports Coaching, based near Horncastle, as a Curriculum Manager and delivers Physical Education in primary schools as part of her role.

Rachael has been a Survival Equipment Technician in the RAF for almost nine years and is currently based at RAF Coningsby working with Typhoon pilots.

Both Toni and Rachael have a real passion for football and say they are very excited to be a part of the whole experience for the next month.

Ahead of the first match, Rachael said: “The role of Ceremony Makers involves participating in on-pitch choreography, and training has involved managing a large scale piece of branding including giant team shirt banners relevant to each name.

“We will both be on the England shirt for the opening game at Wembley versus Croatia.

“The objective is to create an enjoyable atmosphere in the stadium and provide a more memorable experience for the fans. We will be involved in all Wembley pre-match ceremonies and are very excited about the whole experience over the next month!

“We have now had two training days for this, one near Wembley and one on the pitch at Wembley Stadium, both of which were fun experiences. “

She said there are around 80 Ceremony Makers at each Euro 2020 venue around Europe.

At Wembley they make up an overall volunteer team of around 1,200 people selected out of over 37,000 applicants.