England star Lauren Hemp is building LEGO at the World Cup – but now has a ‘problem’

The FIFA Women’s World Cup hasn’t stopped Lionesses winger Lauren Hemp from building new LEGO sets – but she says she now has a ‘problem’ to solve after the tournament.

The 22-year-old England star unwound between Euro 2022 games by building LEGO sets, and she’s now doing the same in Australia and New Zealand for this summer’s World Cup. Hemp – who is part of the LEGO Group’s ‘Unstoppable FC’ initiative – told the Mirror that she has LEGO boxes piled up in her hotel room, and has already built her first set of the tournament.

“I put a photo on my Instagram yesterday of a motorbike [10298 Vespa 125], and I’m now working on a globe,” she said. “I have also done a stadium and I am also working on this little street. I’ve got a bit of a deal going with [the LEGO Group] – they’re really good in sending me items that I can do. I just follow the instructions really, so it’s not too difficult.

“And, obviously, I love doing it – in fact, I’m going back to do it now once this has finished. I just find it very therapeutic. For me, after a long training session or hard day, I just go home and do that. I just enjoy it.” That echoes comments Hemp made at the Euros last summer, where she helped lead England to victory over Germany in the final – after putting together 21327 Typewriter.

But while the Euros were played on home soil, Hemp is now on the other side of the planet for the World Cup. And that’s giving the footballer a conundrum that will be familiar to anyone who’s ever picked up a brick-built souvenir on holiday.

“The only problem is I managed to get this LEGO from Australia, which is handy,” she says. “I’m just trying to work out how I’m actually going to transport it home. I’m really not sure how I’m going to do that.” With any luck, the LEGO Group will extend to supplying a shipping box for the sets it’s sending her. Otherwise, Hemp might have a tough decision to make in her suitcase if England go all the way: a winners’ medal, or a LEGO Vespa?

England’s second group game against Denmark kicks off at 9.30am UK time on Friday, July 28. The team held on to a narrow 1-0 victory over Haiti in their opening game.

Featured image: James Boyes, licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

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