Coleen Nolan takes swipe at Prince William over support of women’s sport

Coleen Nolan has taken aim at Prince William while discussing the upcoming Women’s World Cup final.

On Wednesday, the Lioness’ secured a win against host country Australia in Sydney when taking on the Matildas, finishing with a 3-1 victory.

It was a nail-biting semi-final, but the win now means England is going to compete in its first ever World Cup.

Back in 2006 Prince William was appointed the President-Designate of The Football Association, and in the years since has been present at many notable football games, including the Lioness’ Euro 2022 victory.

But as the team prepare to take on Spain, Loose Women star Coleen has questioned why he won’t be jetting over to see the team make history again.

On Thursday’s episode of the lunchtime programme, the panel were discussing the semi-final win, before conversation turned to whether or not any Royals would be attending.

Loose Women’s Coleen Nolan has taken aim at Prince William (Picture: ITV)

‘I don’t think it’s a thing of whether he should be there. I don’t care if he is,’ Coleen said.

‘The only thing I care about is, I just think if it was the men’s final he would be there. I definitely think he would be there.

‘This discussion of Australia it’s a bit far, I think he’d be there if it was the men’s,’ she added.

The FA President won’t be attending the Women’s World Cup final (Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

A few hours after the game wrapped up, it had been confirmed that Prince William would not be flying to Australia.

It is understood he is currently on a summer break, and the Prince made the decision not to travel because a trip to Australia would involve flying across the world for a very short period of time.

However, he did throw his support behind the team, with a message from his and Kate Middleton’s joint social media pages reading: ‘What a phenomenal performance from the @Lionesses – on to the final! Commiserations to @TheMatildas, you’ve played brilliantly and been fantastic co-hosts of this World Cup.’

The Lionesses will be taking on Spain on Sunday (Picture: Getty)

King Charles also released a statement celebrating England’s advancement to the finals following the game.

Referring to Queen Camilla, he said: ‘My wife and I join all our family in sending the mighty Lionesses our warmest congratulations on reaching the final of the World Cup, and in sharing our very best wishes for Sunday’s match.

‘While your victory may have cost the magnificent Matildas their chance for the greatest prize in the game, both teams have been an inspiration on and off the pitch — and, for that, both nations are united in pride, admiration and respect.’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has not watched England at either men’s or women’s World Cup matches to date, with Downing Street sources indicating he was not expected to attend the women’s final.

After Wednesday’s victory, he tweeted: ‘What a performance @Lionesses. Just one more game to go… Bring on Sunday.’

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Lucy Frazer, is currently the most senior British official slated to be in attendance for the clash with Spain.

The game will mark the first time the Lionesses have reached the final of a World Cup, and the first time an England football team has competed in a World Cup final since the men’s side beat West Germany in 1966.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Kensington Palace for comment.

Loose Women airs weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV1.

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It came during a chat about the Women’s World Cup.