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New campaign to honour past and present Lioness captains

players-on-englands-first-womens-team.Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Shelia Parker (centre) captained the first England women's squad in 1972

A new campaign will soon launch to honour some of the most successful women in football and inspire the next generation of rising stars in the sport.

'Where Greatness is Made' will celebrate the lives and careers of some of the women who have captained England over the years, from Sheila Parker who led the side against Scotland in the first official England game in 1972, to current captain Steph Houghton who helped her team secure third place at the 2015 World Cup, marking their best performance to date.

The captains will be honoured with a plaque in their hometowns which will serve as a permanent reminder of their inspirational stories and the importance of mutual respect for both men and woman on and off the pitch.

Other captains being honoured include Carol Thomas, Gillian Coultard, Faye White and Mary Phillip.

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Image source, Nationwide/England Football
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Shelia Parker will have a plaque in her hometown of Chorley

Each of the plaques will feature a QR code linking through to an interactive map and website shining the spotlight on the stories of each of the captain's and their communities.

Ex-England Women's National team captain Sheila Parker spoke about the campaign and being honoured with her plaque.

"It was always an honour to wear the captain's armband for my country and whenever I did, respect is something I always endeavoured to instil amongst my teammates," she said.

"It's fantastic to be part of a campaign that is championing equality and respect at its core. I hope the 'Where Greatness Is Made' campaign will highlight that everyone starts somewhere and serve to nurture respect in our next generation of footballers."

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Steph Houghton is the current England captain

Some of England's male players have also spoken on the importance of the campaign and respect in the sport.

"Campaigns built on respect are huge. It's an opportunity to speak about how big respect is within the world, and not just football, I think it's a huge part of life, said Wolverhampton Wanderers' captain Conor Coady.

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Former England women's captain Gillian Coultard will also be honoured

"Respect is a big part of the way that I like the teams that I play in and the players that I play with to have, not only on the pitch, but around the training ground. How to speak to staff, how to speak to people, it's really important and luckily enough, I've got good people and good players around me," said Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.

"The togetherness and having that good morale camp, especially when you come away with England, but in any team that you play in is important. You have to have a good team ethic, good principles, and good culture in the dressing room."

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Image caption,

The first women's England team from the 1970s

In addition to the campaign, the Nationwide building society and England Football who are running the project will be taking a giant flag on tour to local communities and grassroots clubs in the run-up to the Euros.

While there they will be collecting messages of support and encouragement from across the country for the England squad.

The giant flag will be delivered to the Lionesses ahead of their first fixture against Austria in July.