Leading from the Back: My Journey to the Top of Women’s Football

SHORTLISTED FOR *AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR* AT THE CHARLES TYRWHITT SPORTS BOOK AWARDS

*One of Waterstones’ Best Sport Books of the Year 2024*

’Steph is truly one of the all-time greats of the women’s game’ Jill Scott

’Documents [Steph’s] crucial role in helping to change perceptions of women’s football’ The Guardian

The inspiring memoir of one of football’s greatest players - Steph Houghton - in which she recounts the highs and lows of making it to the top of her game as England Captain, star of the London Olympics, and Man City stalwart, via Sunderland, Leeds and Arsenal.

With 121 caps for the Lionesses, Steph has been at the heart of the women’s football revolution, inspiring girls and young women around the world but in her own understated way.

Leading from the Back is Steph’s incredibly honest account of what it takes to make it to the pinnacle of women’s football when the odds are well and truly stacked against you.

Inside, she shares her dreams of becoming professional as a young girl in Sunderland and how reaching that status has been a long and often difficult path, both on and off the pitch, especially her husband Steph Darby’s devastating Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis. In between, she recounts the amazing highs of playing for her country, making history at the Olympics, lifting cups for her team, and the awe-inspiring people she has encountered along the way.

This is not only Steph’s personal story, but also the story of women’s football in England and internationally. Steph is credited as being one of the greatest influences in growing the women’s game to the biggest it has ever been.

A remarkable journey of unwavering determination that reveals the grit needed to stay true to yourself, and what it really takes to be a leader; this is the full and incredible story of a sports pioneer, ’Super Steph’.

Steph Houghton MBE is a former professional footballer who is credited as a pioneer of the women’s game having played a huge role in the growth of the sport. A former captain for both the women’s England team, the Lionesses, and Manchester City, Steph has won 121 caps for her country and represented Great Britain twice. She made history for Team GB in the London 2012 Olympics by scoring their first goal in women’s football, and later competed at the Tokyo 2020 games. Starting out at Sunderland, she has also played for Leeds United and Arsenal. Steph retired after a decade at Manchester City in 2024 and soon afterwards was inducted into the Football Museum’s Hall of Fame.