Women's football chief Sue Campbell "privileged" to be made Dame

Trailblazers in women’s sport have been recognised in the New Year Honours list, with Sue Campbell, the Football Association’s director of women’s football, made a Dame.

Campbell, who became a Baroness in 2008 in recognition of a successful period chairing UK Sport, spoke of her “immense privilege” at receiving her latest honour.

Double Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones, former golf major winner and Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew, and England and Manchester City footballer Jill Scott are also among those honoured.

Campbell told the PA news agency: “These things are an immense privilege but they’re also something you accept on behalf of an awful lot of other people who make your job possible.

“I feel very grateful and it’s a reflection of all the hard work an awful lot of people have put in to women’s football and my life in sport generally.”

Jones, who received an MBE in 2013 in the wake of her initial Olympic triumph, has been upgraded to an OBE in recognition of another stellar year at the top of her sport.

Having retained her Olympic title in Rio in 2016, Jones finally claimed an elusive first world title in Manchester in May and will target a third straight Olympic crown in Tokyo next year.

“There were times I doubted if I could ever do it,” Jones admitted in the wake of her most recent triumph. “This is only going to increase my motivation to go on and make it three Olympic titles in a row.”

Matthew also receives the OBE after captaining Europe to an enthralling Solheim Cup win over the US.

Matthew, who received the MBE in 2010 after winning the Women’s British Open, will attempt to become Europe’s first multiple title-winning captain in Ohio in 2021.

Scott’s MBE comes at the end of an eventful year in which she helped steer England to the Women’s World Cup semi-finals, where they lost to eventual winners the United States.

That tournament also saw the 32-year-old break the record for the most World Cup finals appearances by an England player, with her tally now 21.

And she revealed her success has come after she considered quitting the sport as a youngster.

She told the PA news agency: “There’s been tough times – I remember going away on an England camp when I was 14, and I never got selected then for four years.

“It was really difficult because a couple of my team-mates were being picked.

“Standing here now, I think I’ve got 146 caps for England, so I’m glad I made that decision not to quit.

“I was about six or seven when I first started and it was always me playing for boys teams.

“It (animosity) didn’t really come from the boys, it was a lot from the parents – seeing their son get beat by a girl sometimes was more embarrassing for them, I suppose.

“Sometimes I was reduced to tears, but I would just pick my football boots up a couple of days later and always wanted to go back to training.”

Broadcaster and former gymnast Gabby Logan, Olympic bronze medallist Kelly Sotherton and Laura Massaro, the former world squash champion who announced her retirement in 2019, also receive MBEs.

England’s strong performance at this year’s sold-out Netball World Cup is also recognised with MBEs for team captain Serena Guthrie and goal shooter Joanna Harten.

British Gymnastics chief executive Jane Allen, who has overseen the emergence of a new generation of women’s talent including world medal-winning sisters Ellie and Becky Downie, also receives the MBE.

“I accept this award on behalf of everybody at British Gymnastics who has been involved in the growth and development of gymnastics at the recreational level, as well as the fantastic achievements of our athletes on the world stage,” said Allen.