Football star Steph Houghton to sign copies of her new book in Sunderland Waterstones

The former Lioness will be at Waterstones in The Bridges shopping centre Sunderland to sign copies of her upcoming memoir, Leading From The Back.

The book recounts her journey from developing a love of the sport as a girl in Sunderland, to shaping the women's game as captain of her country through times of seismic change for the sport.

Starting her career at Sunderland, Steph moved to Arsenal in 2010. A former captain for England and Manchester City, she 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 before 70,584 fans and later competed at the Tokyo 2020 games.

Steph, a former pupil at Hetton School, retired from football after a decade at Manchester City in May 2024 and soon afterwards was inducted into the Football Museum's Hall of Fame. She was awarded the Freedom of the City of Sunderland in March 2023.

In a special event, she returns to Sunderland where her club career started, to sign copies of her book at Waterstones.

Waterstones Sunderland manager, Yolanda Smith, says "We are absolutely thrilled to host Steph. It's always exciting for the city when events like this come round.

"We had a fantastic response when Jordan Henderson came along and I know it'll be exactly the same for Steph".

Steph will be signing her book on Thursday, November 14 at 5pm in the store.

This event is ticketed and limited. Tickets are priced at £25 (which includes the price of the book) and can be found online via www.Waterstones.com/events.

* In 2023 Steph told the Echo how her surname should be pronounced, saying: "It’s Hoe-ton. Like Houghton-le-Spring."