England face the Netherlands on International Women's Day
International Women’s Day is a chance for successful sportswomen to play their part in inspiring the next generation, according to members of the England Women’s football team.
England are currently competing in the annual 12-team Cyprus Cup tournament and play fellow World Cup finalists the Netherlands later on International Women’s Day.
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But they took time out of the preparations to tell Sky Sports News HQ what the March 8 landmark day celebrating the achievements of women means to them.
England and Manchester City captain Steph Houghton said: “International Women’s Day means a lot to me because I was once a young girl who used to look up to a lot of women in sport.
“Now we have one a day where - especially in our sport - where we can be role models for the younger generation and we can try and inspire them to play sport and do whatever they want to.
“I think it’s important that as football players we try and continue to be the inspiration for those young girls.”
England forward Jess Clarke said: “International Women’s Day means a great deal to me. For myself as a youngster I had struggles coming through but I had a dream, and it was to play for England, and I am doing that now.
“I just hope I can inspire the next generation coming through to fulfil their dreams whether it’s within football or any other career path.”
England manager Mark Sampson said: “International Women’s Day is very important for this team because it gives the players the opportunity to realise what they have achieved so far, how important the special people are in their life, and the role they play in inspiring the next generation.
“As a team we have the opportunity this summer (at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada), to do exactly that and we will be giving everything we can to inspire the next generation of young girls and women to hopefully become the next England international.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea Football Club have announced they will host a one-day conference on May 23 dedicated to women in sport.
The invite-only event at Stamford Bridge, organised by conference and publishing business 'Leaders' will bring together approximately 250 senior figures from the sporting world to address the under-representation of women in the business, administration and support areas of traditionally male sports such as football.
Additional discussions will focus on increasing the commercial support, and other funding, for women's sports as well as media coverage of women's sports which continues to trail male sports to the detriment of professional and elite development.
The Leaders Sport Business Summit has been an annual fixture at Stamford Bridge each October since 2009, in which world-renowned industry figures convene in front of a global gathering of senior executives and media.
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