Chloe Kelly becomes Barbie for International Women's Day

England and Arsenal forward Chloe Kelly has been honoured with special recognition to mark International Women's Day.

Kelly and other sporting stars have been immortalised by Mattel ahead of the annual day of recognition, which falls this year on Sunday, March 8.

The Lionesses striker has been rendered in miniature doll form, becoming a footballing Barbie in full England kit.

Barbie doll a 'dream' for Chloe Kelly

Tennis legend Serena Williams and Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana are two of the other sportspeople honoured by the International Women's Day campaign, which seeks to celebrate women who excel in their industries.

Kelly's impact on women's football has been remarkable. A Champions League winner with Arsenal, the former Manchester City and Everton striker is a household name around the world thanks to her success with Sarina Wiegman's England Women team.

Kelly played a starring role in England's back-to-back Women's European Championship wins, shooting to international fame at the Lionesses' home tournament in 2022.

Her extra-time goal to defeat Germany in the final was the biggest women's football moment Wembley has ever seen, yet she somehow managed to outdo herself in Switzerland three years later.

She wasn't a starter for Wiegman's team at the beginning of the tournament but still swaggered out of the other end as its abiding star turn. Along with Michelle Agyemang, Kelly's extraordinary ability to influence matches from the bench was the secret sauce of England's success.

Late goals were the order of the day and Kelly made them and scored them, notably against Italy in the semi-final in Basel. Her smiling penalty kicks became a headline in their own right and it was with some inevitability that she put away the winner in the shoot-out against Spain in the final.

Footballers don't get turned into dolls just for winning trophies. In FourFourTwo's opinion, Kelly matters because she's everything English women's football needs. There are more consistently impactful players on the pitch but Kelly is more than just a player for the biggest stage.

A growing sport needs famous faces and players who justify and embrace their adulation and notoriety.

Kelly is a catalyst for the growth of women's football because she's done the business on the field but also because she's the very embodiment of the x-factor.

Young players and fans can look up to Kelly as a player, a style, and an attitude. In an industry that needs inspirational figures, Kelly is England's outstanding candidate for a figurine.