Steph Houghton’s second Olympic Games are dedicated to family — her own, and the extended clan who will be cheering on Team GB from across the globe.
The 33-year-old is one of five London 2012 veterans named to Hege Riise’s squad, which also features returning stars Karen Bardsley, Ellen White, Kim Little and Jill Scott.
Tokyo will have a different feel than Houghton’s last Olympic outing, when a record-breaking 80,203 fans attended the Wembley final between the United States and Japan.
With no overseas spectators permitted in Tokyo, the England captain feels an added responsibility to rouse the nation’s spirits from afar.
“I was so desperate to get selected for this one, not just for me but the rest of the team we’re so proud to be able to represent Team GB,” said Houghton.
“With the success of the last Olympics and the performances that we produced, everybody’s so excited to get to Tokyo to go and do something special.
“I think to be part of a team is what makes football so special but to be a team within a team, to make our country proud and to go over there and be successful, that’s what excites us most.
“We know for a fact we’re going to have the whole country behind us and with the year we’ve just had, it’s about us trying to put smiles back on faces and make people proud of us.”
Unreal memories... what a throwback! 😍 https://t.co/xReFUYpLZK
— Steph Houghton MBE (@stephhoughton2) May 26, 2021
Houghton’s life has changed considerably in the nine years since she first pulled on a Team GB shirt and scored the winning goals in matches against New Zealand and Brazil.
She now captains Women’s Super League side Manchester City - strongly represented by 11 players on the Tokyo team - leading them to three FA Cup wins and a Super League title.
Off the pitch, the Durham native was made an MBE for her services to football in 2016, and two years later tied the knot with fellow footballer Stephen Darby.
Just months into the marriage, Stephen was forced to retire early after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
And while her other half won’t be able to join Houghton in Tokyo, he’s one of the main reasons Houghton is so thrilled to be back representing her country.
“Driving to the team announcement and knowing that we’ve known for a few weeks and not been able to tell anybody, I got really emotional to be honest,” she admitted.
“These are moments where as a footballer and as athletes you want to be able to showcase what you are as an individual but as a team in amazing tournaments like the Olympics, these moments are probably more for your family than anybody else and I know they will be so proud of what’s happened.
“I’ll just be so proud to pull on the Team GB shirt again.”
Fellow City star Lauren Hemp is one of 13 women who will be pulling on a Team GB shirt for the first time.
The 20-year-old is the youngest member of the Tokyo-bound side, with 21-year-old duo Niamh Charles and Ella Toone also representing Gen Z on the four-woman reserves.
But Houghton insisted she wasn’t jealous of anyone experiencing Olympic magic for the first time.
Their presence, she explained, only rekindles fond memories—and gets her fired up for what’s to come.
She said: “I’ve been speaking with Ella and Naimh who are going to be with us for the whole tournament, and I’m so excited to see how they’ll react being in that environment.
“It’s such a surreal feeling to be part of something that we’ve all probably watched since we’ve been kids and we never expected to be a part of.”
In other words, debutants, welcome to the Team GB family.
Sportsbeat 2021