HOUGHTON Steph

Great Britain
Football
23 Apr 1988
33
Female
1.74/5'8''
DURHAM
 
Great Britain

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
FBL Football Women
GBR
Great Britain
 7

Schedule

Change
Start Time Location Event Status
Sapporo Dome
Women's Group E
#02
GBR
Great Britain
2
CHI
Chile
0
Finished
Sapporo Dome
Women's Group E
#07
JPN
Japan
0
GBR
Great Britain
1
Finished
Ibaraki Kashima Stadium
Women's Group E
#14
CAN
Canada
1
GBR
Great Britain
1
Finished
Ibaraki Kashima Stadium
Women's Quarter-final
#19
GBR
Great Britain
3
AUS
Australia
4
AET
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

:
Olympic Games
RankEventYearLocation
5Senior2012London, GBR

FIFA Women's World Cup
RankEventYearLocation
3Senior2015Canada
4Senior2019France
7Senior2011Germany

UEFA Women's Championship
RankEventYearLocation
3Senior2017Netherlands
:
Athlete
:
Sports Science - Loughborough University, Loughborough, GBR
:
Husband Stephen Darby
:
English
:
Manchester City [Great Britain] since 2014
:
Gareth Taylor [club], WAL; Hege Riise [national], NOR
:
Defender (mancity.com, 08 May 2019)
:
Her husband Stephen Darby represented England in football at U19 level. He also played club football in England for Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City. (thesun.co.uk, 20 Sep 2018; thefa.com, 20 May 2007)
:
2007 for Great Britain Against Russian Federation (thefa.com, 18 Dec 2011)
:
She sustained an Achilles tendon injury in March 2021. The injury forced her to miss England's friendly matches against France and Canada the following month. (bbc.co.uk, 08 Apr 2021)

In April 2019 she withdrew from the England squad for a match against Spain due to groin injury. (bbc.co.uk, 08 Apr 2019)

A knee injury sustained in March 2015 kept her out of the 2015 Cyprus Cup final. She was expected to be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks. (bbc.co.uk, 08 Mar 2015)

She was ruled out of the 2009 European Championship in Finland with a cruciate ligament injury. (bbc.co.uk, 08 Mar 2015)

Two days before she was due to fly out to the People's Republic of China for the 2007 World Cup she tripped over a hurdle and broke her leg. (dailymail.co.uk, 11 Mar 2011)
:
Women's Super League [ENG] (telegraph.co.uk, 04 Sep 2020)
:
She began playing football at age four. (rokerreport.com, 04 May 2011)
:
"I always played football, from about the age of four with my dad in the yard, always loved the game and [have] always seen myself playing it at any level." (independent.co.uk, 22 May 2011)
:
English footballers David Beckham and Steven Gerrard, British heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill. (dailymail.co.uk, 11 Mar 2011)
:
Her father. (arsenal.com, 20 May 2011)
:
"I like to listen to dance music to get the adrenalin going." (dailymail.co.uk, 11 Mar 2011)
:
"To work hard and always want to improve but most importantly enjoy and smile." (arsenal.com, 20 May 2011)
:
In 2020 she was named the North East Football Writers' Association Personality of the Year. (sunderlandecho.com, 13 Jan 2020)

She received a Special Achievement award at the 2019 Professional Footballers Association [PFA] Awards. (bbc.co.uk, 29 Apr 2019)

She became a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2016 New Year's Honours List. (stephhoughton.com, 2018)

She was named the 2008 Football Association [FA] Women's Young Player of the Year. (mancity.com, 08 May 2019)

General Interest

General
CAPTAIN TROUBLES
She says she initially struggled after being named captain of the England women's football team in 2014. "I think, in terms of a mental point of view, I tried to be someone that I wasn't. I tried to be everyone's mate when I first got given the captaincy. I had a lot of experienced players above me, the likes of Fara Williams, Casey Stoney, who had every right to be captain but I had the honour of having the armband. In those first six months it really affected the way I played because I tried to use all my energy to be everybody's best mate. I tried to make sure everyone was okay. Whereas, actually, I was the one who was suffering in the way that my form dipped and that's when I had to speak to a psychologist. He pulled me aside and said, 'Right okay we need to just get back to basics of how you've actually been given the captaincy'." (newschain.uk, 27 Jul 2020)

Legend
:
Gold Medal Event
:
Silver Medal Event
:
Bronze Medal Event
AET:
After Extra Time
Content 1 (removed through CDN)
Content 2 (removed through CDN).
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