Mary Earps given honorary degree for services to sport

Manchester United and England goalkeeper Mary Earps receives an honorary degree from Loughborough University (Joe Giddens/PA)

England goalkeeper Mary Earps has been awarded an honorary doctorate at her alma mater.

The 30-year-old said she was “proud” to be part of a growth in women’s football and said she hoped that future generations would benefit even further as she was awarded for her contribution to sport.

The Lioness said it was “pretty incredible” to receive the honorary degree from Loughborough University.

Mary Earps said she was ‘thankful’ for the honorary degree for her contributions to sport (Joe Giddens/PA)

Accepting the award, the England and Manchester United player described her time at the university – where she gained a degree in information management and business studies in 2016 – as “manic” and said she did not expect life to be “a lot more manic later down the line”.

“To be awarded an honorary doctorate is pretty incredible,” Earps said.

“It’s even more special to come back to where I studied and gained a degree in 2016. Life at Loughborough back then was what I thought was manic, little did I know life was going to get a lot more manic later down the line.

“It’s great to be part of the growth of women’s football. Many people have come before us and we’ve stood on their shoulders and benefited from that. Hopefully, future generations will equally benefit from what we’ve achieved in this time.

“I know being here today is not something everyone gets to do and I’m thankful to be awarded this honorary degree for my contributions to sport.”

Earps received the honorary degree at her former university (Joe Giddens/PA)

Earps made her full international debut a year after graduating from the university, which