Steph Houghton MBE has won most things in her glittering career – and now she’s added BusinessCloud’s Northern Leaders Overall Award to her collection.
The former England and Manchester City captain walked away with the main award at last night’s inaugural Northern Leaders Awards.
The award was presented to her by Jonathan Bernstein, son of the late Sir Howard Bernstein, former chief executive of Manchester City Council, who died in 2024.
The award was given in recognition of her stellar football career but also her ongoing role in the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, which was set up after her husband Stephen Darby was diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
A collection on the night for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation is still being counted but was swelled by a £1,000 pledge from Will Lewis of OBI.
Houghton told the audience at the invite-only event dinner that her life turned upside down in 2018.
She was in Spain with her Man City team when a phone call from home changed the direction of her life.
Her husband of just three months, who was a footballer at Bradford City, had just been told he had motor neurone disease.
“It was a tough period for everybody,” she recalled. “I didn’t really know anything about motor neurone disease.
Jonathan Bernstein with the winner of the Northern Leaders Overall Award Steph Houghton
“That’s the aim of the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation – to allow people to be aware of what this disease does to them and to their family.
“For me it’s about awareness. Throughout the country, throughout Europe, throughout the world, we want to allow people to know what MND is. Ultimately there’s no cure for the disease so we need as much research as possible.
“The funds that people are raising for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation are crucial to us finding a cure. Once you’ve been told you’ve got MND there’s no other real advice that goes with it. The idea of the foundation was to help as many people as possible.”
The organisation has already raised £2m to fund medical research in addition to providing a support network for those diagnosed with the disease.
Houghton, who played 121 times for England, has spent much of her life dealing with adversity.
She’s from the former mining village of South Hetton, in Durham, and was the only girl in her primary school football team.
Houghton is widely regarded as being of the world’s best centre-backs but she originally caught the attention of Sunderland’s Centre of Excellence as a striker before moving back into midfield and later into defence.
“I like to see everything in front of me rather than everything behind,” she said.
It was only when she went to Loughborough University and had started to get into the England 1st team that she considered a career as a professional footballer.
Until she moved to Arsenal in 2010 she’d had to pay-to-play – and was initially paid less than £9,000 at The Gunners.
Her recent book – Leading From The Back – has been described as being as much about the rise of women’s football in England and internationally as it is about her own career.
Despite that, Houghton is quick to downplay suggestions that’s she’s a pioneer of the advent of professionalism in the women’s game.
“There’s a lot of people who played a massive part in changing the women’s game and maybe there was a lot more responsibility for me in my role as captain of England to create change,” she said.
“I wouldn’t describe myself as a pioneer but I’ve seen both sides of the game, from where it’s been and where it’s gone to.
“It’s amazing what the girls are getting paid and that’s what we’ve been striving to do.”
Houghton was appointed captain of England in January 2014 and went on to captain her country at two World Cups and a Women’s Euros, earning a bronze medal at the 2015 World Cup.
She estimates 30 per cent of her game was mental, which was why she worked with a sports psychologist ahead of the 2015 World Cup.
“When you’ve had such a big responsibility with your role as captain of England there’s a lot of pressure that goes with that – and at the time I was young and didn’t express how I felt,” she said.
“There were a lot of emotions involved. How do you deal with that so it doesn’t impact on performance? I found it really helpful just having that bit of release and it really helped me to better myself in a different way. I kept on learning, which is the main thing.”
She signed for Man City in 2014 and was the first female player to appear on the cover of Shoot magazine.
“Football is football and everyone should have an opportunity to be celebrated for successes and the influence that they have on the game,” she said.
As well as becoming a City legend she’s also credited for bringing young star Jess Park to the club after watching her play.
“I went to a PlayStation Schools’ Cup and I was presenting the finalists with their trophy and Jess’ team won. She was just unbelievable that day,” she said.
“As soon as I’d seen her I messaged our manager to say ‘we need to get this girl to Man City’. Literally she was there a week later and now she’s one of our best players. I hope she stays a long time.”
Houghton last played for England in 2021 and missed out on the successful 2022 Euros because of an Achilles injury.
Asked about her approach to disappointments, she said: “First and foremost you’ve got to allow the emotions to be real and understand that it hurts but you can only do that for so long.
“I don’t tend to mope about stuff like not being selected and injuries. I’m a bit of a fighter and I like to prove people wrong. It was a case of ‘what can I do to get better and stronger?’”
As well as her burgeoning career she’s also studying for her UEFA A Licence coaching badge and has not ruled out a role in coaching.
Asked what makes a great leader, she said: “A leader is somebody who is first and foremost themselves and is able to be adaptable with people around them, whether that’s in a team or in a business.
“For me the most important thing is being able to listen to your colleagues around you to implement action.”
- Donate to the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation here