Hannah Kumari has been an English football fan since childhood, but she never wanted to fly an England flag. Until now.
Kumari is one of the millions of fans ecstatic that England’s men’s team has reached the final of a major tournament – Euro 2020 – for the first time since it won the 1966 World Cup.
But like many British people of colour, she has had an ambivalent relationship with symbols of Englishness.
Yet, embracing them has come more easily, thanks to the young, multiethnic squad that is on the cusp of triumph in the European Championship.
After beating Denmark 2-1 in a semi-final that was watched by half the country’s population, England face Italy in the final at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday.